Health & Wellbeing
Words for physical health, fitness, medical care, and wellbeing
Overview
25 A2 words for talking about health, fitness, medical situations, and your body more precisely.
Words
accident /ˈæksɪdənt/
noun — A2
Meaning: an unexpected event that causes damage or injury
Examples:
- He had a car accident last week.
- The accident happened at the crossroads.
Collocations: car accident, by accident, road accident, accident and emergency
ache /eɪk/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: a continuous dull pain
Examples:
- I’ve got a terrible headache.
- My legs ache after running.
Collocations: headache, stomachache, backache, aches and pains
ambulance /ˈæmbjələns/
noun — A2
Meaning: a vehicle for taking sick people to hospital
Examples:
- Quick — call an ambulance!
- The ambulance arrived in ten minutes.
Collocations: call an ambulance, ambulance service
appointment /əˈpɔɪntmənt/
noun — A2
Meaning: a meeting at a fixed time, especially with a doctor
Examples:
- I have a dentist’s appointment at 3 p.m.
- Can I make an appointment, please?
Collocations: make an appointment, doctor’s appointment, keep an appointment
blood /blʌd/
noun — A2
Meaning: the red liquid in your body
Examples:
- The nurse took a blood sample.
- There was blood on the bandage.
Collocations: blood test, blood pressure, blood type, lose blood
Word Family: blood (n.) → bloody (adj.) → bleed (v.)
bone /bəʊn/
noun — A2
Meaning: one of the hard parts forming the skeleton
Examples:
- She broke a bone in her foot.
- The dog was chewing on a bone.
Collocations: broken bone, bone marrow, fish bone
breathe /briːð/
verb — A2
Meaning: to take air into and out of your lungs
Examples:
- Breathe deeply and relax.
- It’s hard to breathe in this heat.
Collocations: breathe in, breathe out, breathe deeply, hardly breathe
Word Family: breathe (v.) → breath (n.) → breathing (n.)
cure /kjʊər/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: (n.) a medicine or treatment; (v.) to make someone healthy again
Examples:
- There’s no cure for the common cold.
- The medicine cured her infection.
Collocations: cure for, find a cure, cure a disease
damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: physical harm; to cause harm
Examples:
- The storm caused serious damage.
- Smoking can damage your lungs.
Collocations: cause damage, brain damage, damage to
diet /ˈdaɪət/
noun — A2
Meaning: the food someone normally eats; a special eating plan
Examples:
- A healthy diet includes lots of fruit.
- She’s on a diet to lose weight.
Collocations: go on a diet, balanced diet, healthy diet
disease /dɪˈziːz/
noun — A2
Meaning: an illness affecting the body
Examples:
- Heart disease is a leading cause of death.
- The disease spread quickly.
Collocations: heart disease, lung disease, infectious disease
drug /drʌɡ/
noun — A2
Meaning: a substance used as medicine; an illegal substance
Examples:
- The doctor prescribed a new drug.
- Illegal drugs are a major problem.
Collocations: drug test, prescription drug, drug abuse
exercise /ˈeksəsaɪz/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: physical activity to stay healthy; to do physical activity
Examples:
- Regular exercise is good for you.
- I exercise three times a week.
Collocations: do exercise, exercise regularly, exercise routine
fit /fɪt/
adjective, verb — A2
Meaning: (adj.) healthy and in good physical shape; (v.) to be the right size
Examples:
- She runs every day to keep fit.
- These jeans don’t fit me anymore.
Collocations: keep fit, fit and healthy, fit in
Word Family: fit (adj./v.) → fitness (n.) → unfit (adj.)
heal /hiːl/
verb — A2
Meaning: to become healthy again; to make better
Examples:
- The wound took weeks to heal.
- Time heals all wounds.
Collocations: heal quickly, heal naturally, healing process
Word Family: heal (v.) → healing (n./adj.) → health (n.) → healthy (adj.)
illness /ˈɪlnəs/
noun — A2
Meaning: the state of being sick; a disease
Examples:
- She missed school due to illness.
- It’s a serious illness.
Collocations: mental illness, serious illness, recover from illness
Word Family: illness (n.) → ill (adj.)
injure /ˈɪndʒər/
verb — A2
Meaning: to harm yourself or someone else physically
Examples:
- He injured his shoulder playing football.
- Two people were injured in the accident.
Collocations: seriously injured, injured in, injured player
Word Family: injure (v.) → injury (n.) → injured (adj.)
mental /ˈmentl/
adjective — A2
Meaning: relating to the mind
Examples:
- Mental health is as important as physical health.
- He’s under enormous mental pressure.
Collocations: mental health, mental illness, mental state, mental strength
Word Family: mental (adj.) → mentally (adv.)
operation /ˌɒpəˈreɪʃn/
noun — A2
Meaning: a medical procedure involving cutting open the body
Examples:
- She had an operation on her knee.
- The operation was successful.
Collocations: have an operation, major operation, heart operation
Word Family: operation (n.) → operate (v.)
pain /peɪn/
noun — A2
Meaning: an unpleasant physical feeling
Examples:
- I have a terrible pain in my back.
- The pain is getting worse.
Collocations: in pain, pain relief, chronic pain, sharp pain
Word Family: pain (n.) → painful (adj.) → painless (adj.)
patient /ˈpeɪʃnt/
noun — A2
Meaning: a person receiving medical treatment
Examples:
- The hospital has 500 patients.
- The doctor is seeing a patient.
Collocations: hospital patient, patient care, patient records
recover /rɪˈkʌvər/
verb — A2
Meaning: to get better after illness or injury
Examples:
- She’s recovering from a broken leg.
- He fully recovered in three weeks.
Collocations: recover from, fully recover, slow recovery
Word Family: recover (v.) → recovery (n.)
stress /stres/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: worry and pressure caused by problems
Examples:
- Work-related stress is very common.
- Don’t stress about the exam.
Collocations: stress levels, under stress, stress out, stress management
Word Family: stress (n./v.) → stressful (adj.) → stressed (adj.)
suffer /ˈsʌfər/
verb — A2
Meaning: to experience pain, illness, or difficulty
Examples:
- She suffers from bad headaches.
- Many people suffered during the flood.
Collocations: suffer from, suffer pain, suffer a loss
Word Family: suffer (v.) → suffering (n.) → sufferer (n.)
treat /triːt/
verb, noun — A2
Meaning: (v.) to give medical care; to behave towards someone; (n.) something special
Examples:
- The doctor treated her for flu.
- I’ll treat you to dinner.
Collocations: treat someone, treat for, treat yourself
Word Family: treat (v./n.) → treatment (n.)
Quick Review
| Word | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| accident | n. | unexpected event |
| ache | n./v. | dull pain |
| ambulance | n. | medical vehicle |
| appointment | n. | fixed meeting |
| blood | n. | body fluid |
| bone | n. | skeleton part |
| breathe | v. | take in air |
| cure | n./v. | treatment; heal |
| damage | n./v. | harm |
| diet | n. | food plan |
| disease | n. | illness |
| drug | n. | medicine; substance |
| exercise | n./v. | physical activity |
| fit | adj./v. | healthy; right size |
| heal | v. | become healthy |
| illness | n. | being sick |
| injure | v. | cause harm |
| mental | adj. | of the mind |
| operation | n. | surgery |
| pain | n. | unpleasant feeling |
| patient | n. | person in care |
| recover | v. | get better |
| stress | n./v. | worry/pressure |
| suffer | v. | experience pain |
| treat | v./n. | give care; special |