vaccine
/ˌvækˈsin/An injection that teaches the body to fight a disease before you catch it.
Example: The flu vaccine is free for older people here.
B213 words · Upper-intermediate
Discoveries & Inventions vocabulary — B2
Invention vocabulary such as patent, breakthrough and innovation, plus funding, feasible and commercialize. Words for describing how an idea becomes a product.
13 questions
Words in this set
13patent
/ˈpætənt/An official right that stops other people copying and selling your new idea.
Example:
The company filed a patent for its folding screen.
breakthrough
/ˈbreɪkˌθru/A sudden important success that solves a problem people struggled with for years.
Example:
The team made a real breakthrough in cancer treatment.
innovation
/ˌɪnəˈveɪʃən/A new idea, method, or invention that changes the way something is done.
Example:
Electric cars are one of the biggest innovations in transport.
engineer
/ˈɛndʒəˈnɪr/A person who designs, builds, or repairs machines, structures, or systems.
Example:
An engineer checked the bridge for safety.
funding
/ˈfʌndɪŋ/Money provided to support a project, such as research or a new invention.
Example:
The research team received government funding for the project.
feasible
/ˈfizəbəl/Possible to do or achieve, given the money, time, or technology available.
Example:
Experts questioned whether the plan was actually feasible.
commercialize
/kəˈmɜrʃəˌlaɪz/To start producing and selling something, especially a new invention, as a business.
Example:
The company plans to commercialize the new battery technology next year.
licence
/ˈlaɪsəns/Official permission to use an invention.
Example:
They sold the licence rather than build anything themselves.
failure mode
The particular way in which something breaks.
Example:
Every failure mode was documented except the one that happened.
pilot plant
A small version of a factory built to test a process.
Example:
The pilot plant ran for a year before anyone signed anything.
field test
A trial of something in real conditions.
Example:
The field test found the fault the laboratory had missed.
specification
/ˌspɛsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/A detailed description of how something must be made.
Example:
The specification ran to four hundred pages.
