Vocabulary

Study the following vocabulary.

Describing trends 1

improveimproveimprove – to get better, as with situations, conditions, or outlooks

expandexpandexpand – to increase in size, amount or volume – closer to "get bigger" than "go up in level"

peakpeakpeak – to reach a high point, or a noun for the highest point reached, for example the highest price reached by an individual stock in one day

declinedeclinedecline – go down or decrease in size

fallfallfall – go down or decrease quickly and by a large amount

shrinkshrinkshrink – the opposite of expand, to decrease in size, amount or volume

deterioratedeterioratedeteriorate – to gradually worsen over time, usually indicates a slow but continual process

escalateescalateescalate – to get bigger or more intense quickly, as with activity or tension

fluctuatefluctuatefluctuate – to move back and forth or up and down between two points without stopping

riseriserise – to go up or increase (note the difference between rise and raise: things rise on their own, i.e. the sun, prices, inflation, while raise means to put up, or the action of making something rise, i.e. to raise prices in your store, or to raise your hand)