English Words 2001-3000 (Frequency)

Level: B2. This is the fourth thousand-word band of the English frequency list. By now the everyday basics are behind you; these words add precision — the nouns, verbs and adjectives you need to give opinions, describe feelings and follow a news story or a film without subtitles.

By the end of this page you can…

…recognise and use a strong core of the words ranked 2001-3000 in English, grouped by meaning, and understand how the set was chosen so you can trust the ranks.

How this set was chosen

The source is the English frequency list from hermitdave/FrequencyWords, which ranks about 50,000 words by how often they appear in a very large collection of film and television subtitles. The Rank column below is each word’s real position in that list — every number is taken straight from the data, never invented.

A 1,000-word band is too long to teach in one page, and — because the list is built from subtitles — this depth of it is heavily mixed with material that is not general vocabulary: proper names (place and character names), one-letter fragments and filler, and a lot of strong slang and swearing. Rather than pad the page with those, we show a curated core of about 160 genuinely useful words, chosen for being teachable, and grouped by meaning (ideas, people, verbs, adjectives, objects, time) instead of by raw rank. Words we skipped are skipped honestly: if you compare this page with the raw file you will find names and slang here that we left out on purpose.

Ideas and qualities

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2027	knowledge	facts and skills you have learned	Her knowledge of history is impressive.
2035	pity	a feeling of sympathy; a shame	It is a pity you cannot come.
2110	mercy	kindness shown to someone you could punish	The judge showed mercy.
2131	courage	the ability to face fear	It took courage to speak up.
2168	advantage	something that helps you	Speed is her main advantage.
2194	talent	a natural ability	He has a talent for music.
2200	concern	worry; something that matters to you	Safety is our main concern.
2205	value	how much something is worth	The house has gone up in value.
2215	desire	a strong wish	She has a desire to travel.
2222	pride	a feeling of satisfaction in yourself	They take pride in their work.
2233	protection	keeping someone or something safe	A helmet gives protection.
2234	treatment	medical care; how you treat someone	The treatment worked well.
2257	performance	how well someone does something	Her performance was excellent.
2420	destiny	what is meant to happen to you	He felt it was his destiny.
2430	solution	an answer to a problem	We found a simple solution.
2446	effort	energy used to do something	Put more effort into it.
2460	progress	movement toward a goal	We are making good progress.
2548	passion	a very strong feeling or interest	Cooking is her passion.
2618	authority	the power to give orders	The police have authority here.
2620	failure	a lack of success	The plan ended in failure.
2632	reputation	the opinion people have of you	The firm has a good reputation.
2633	confidence	belief in yourself	She spoke with confidence.
2689	agreement	a shared decision	They reached an agreement.
2692	ability	the skill to do something	He has the ability to lead.
2738	identity	who a person is	The thief hid his identity.
2743	potential	possible future ability	The player has great potential.
2818	quality	how good something is	We sell high-quality tools.
2922	balance	a steady, even state	Try to keep a work-life balance.
2929	impression	the effect someone has on you	She made a good impression.
2989	comfort	a feeling of ease	The sofa gives great comfort.

People and roles

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2006	player	someone who takes part in a game	He is the best player on the team.
2043	officers	members of the police or army (rank)	Two officers arrived at the scene.
2049	jury	a group that decides a court case	The jury found him guilty.
2052	attorney	a lawyer (especially US)	Her attorney gave advice.
2141	winner	someone who wins	The winner gets a prize.
2250	governor	the head of a state or region	The governor made a speech.
2251	guards	people who protect a place	Guards stood at the gate.
2343	stranger	a person you do not know	A stranger asked for directions.
2405	expert	someone with deep knowledge	She is a health expert.
2415	pilot	a person who flies a plane	The pilot landed safely.
2444	prisoner	a person kept in prison	The prisoner was released.
2467	reporter	someone who reports the news	A reporter asked questions.
2499	actor	a person who performs in films or plays	He is a famous actor.
2549	writer	a person who writes books	She is a travel writer.
2561	customers	people who buy goods or services	The shop has many customers.
2579	clients	people who use a professional service	The lawyer met her clients.
2584	witnesses	people who saw an event	Two witnesses spoke in court.
2862	adult	a fully grown person	Tickets are cheaper for one adult.
2948	partners	people who share a business or activity	The two partners run a cafe.
2973	neighbor	a person living near you	My neighbor lent me a ladder.

Verbs

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2002	scare	to frighten	Loud noises scare the baby.
2010	repeat	to say or do again	Could you repeat that, please?
2031	celebrate	to mark a happy event	We celebrate New Year together.
2038	assume	to think true without proof	Do not assume I agree.
2066	deliver	to take goods to a place	They deliver pizza until late.
2079	chase	to run after	The dog chased the cat.
2102	suffer	to feel pain or hardship	Many suffer in the heat.
2242	rescue	to save from danger	Firefighters rescued the family.
2255	remove	to take away	Please remove your shoes.
2261	scream	to cry out loudly	She screamed in fright.
2293	arrive	to reach a place	We arrived at noon.
2307	refuse	to say no to	He refused the offer.
2308	solve	to find an answer to	Can you solve this puzzle?
2329	borrow	to take and return later	May I borrow your pen?
2336	warn	to tell of a danger	They warned us about the storm.
2372	exchange	to give and get in return	We exchanged phone numbers.
2375	convince	to make someone believe	She convinced me to stay.
2412	receive	to get something given	I received your letter.
2421	cure	to make someone healthy again	This medicine cured the cough.
2440	sacrifice	to give up something valued	They sacrificed free time for the project.
2476	defend	to protect from attack	Soldiers defend the city.
2545	collect	to bring together	She collects old coins.
2578	climb	to go up	We climbed the hill.
2581	provide	to give what is needed	The hotel provides towels.
2583	seek	to look for	They seek a better life.
2585	earn	to get money by working	He earns a good salary.
2601	approach	to come near	Winter is approaching.
2764	deny	to say something is not true	He denied the charge.
2788	bury	to put under the ground	They buried the treasure.
2991	surrender	to give up and stop fighting	The army surrendered.

Adjectives

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2003	pleased	happy and satisfied	I am pleased to meet you.
2018	delicious	very good to eat	The soup was delicious.
2019	particular	specific; this one, not others	Is there a particular book you want?
2020	proper	correct and suitable	Wear proper shoes for hiking.
2051	positive	good; sure	Stay positive about the result.
2060	useless	of no use	This broken pen is useless.
2073	regular	happening at even times; usual	He is a regular customer.
2075	official	approved by authority	Here is the official result.
2081	odd	strange; not even	That is an odd thing to say.
2088	confused	not able to understand	I am confused by the map.
2108	clever	quick to learn or understand	That was a clever idea.
2152	healthy	in good health; good for you	Fruit is a healthy snack.
2169	pure	clean, not mixed	This is pure gold.
2239	grateful	thankful	I am grateful for your help.
2295	decent	good enough; honest	It is a decent meal for the price.
2304	desperate	needing something very badly	They were desperate for water.
2317	false	not true; fake	He gave a false name.
2321	silent	making no sound	The room went silent.
2332	popular	liked by many	This song is very popular.
2362	precious	of great value	Time is precious.
2384	ordinary	normal, not special	It was an ordinary day.
2385	successful	having a good result	The event was successful.
2424	rare	not often found	Rain is rare in the desert.
2478	nasty	very unpleasant	That was a nasty surprise.
2483	rude	not polite	It is rude to interrupt.
2504	friendly	kind and pleasant	The staff are very friendly.
2515	sharp	with a fine edge; quick	Be careful, the knife is sharp.
2532	negative	bad; saying no	He has a negative attitude.
2537	similar	almost the same	Our ideas are similar.
2648	emotional	showing strong feelings	It was an emotional goodbye.
2699	solid	hard and firm	The table is solid oak.
2708	useful	helpful	This app is very useful.
2775	unique	the only one of its kind	Each snowflake is unique.
2789	massive	very large	A massive crowd gathered.
2846	sensitive	easily affected or hurt	She is sensitive to criticism.
2861	suspicious	causing or feeling doubt	The man looked suspicious.
2968	mysterious	hard to explain	A mysterious light appeared.

Objects and places

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2039	glasses	lenses worn to see better	I cannot read without my glasses.
2076	jacket	a short coat	Take a jacket, it is cold.
2090	television	a device for watching programmes	Turn off the television.
2105	plate	a flat dish for food	Pass me a clean plate.
2160	palace	a grand home of a ruler	We visited the old palace.
2196	piano	a large keyboard instrument	She plays the piano well.
2203	factory	a building where goods are made	He works in a car factory.
2208	mirror	glass that shows your image	She looked in the mirror.
2209	studio	a room for recording or art	The band booked a studio.
2211	taxi	a car you pay to ride in	Let us take a taxi.
2263	vehicle	a machine for transport	No vehicles past this point.
2305	flower	the colourful part of a plant	He gave her a flower.
2427	juice	liquid from fruit	I drink orange juice.
2433	wheel	a round part that turns	The front wheel is flat.
2436	fruit	the sweet part of a plant with seeds	Eat more fruit and vegetables.
2442	button	a small part you press or fasten	Press the green button.
2452	garage	a place for a car or repairs	The car is in the garage.
2463	stairs	steps between floors	She ran up the stairs.
2518	elevator	a lift between floors (US)	Take the elevator to floor five.
2533	screen	the front of a display	Clean the phone screen.
2540	chain	a line of joined metal rings	The dog was on a chain.
2611	library	a place with books to borrow	I study at the library.
2641	salt	a white seasoning	Add a little salt.
2686	belt	a band worn round the waist	Fasten your seat belt.
2744	guitar	a stringed instrument	He plays guitar in a band.
2807	basement	a room below ground level	The gym is in the basement.
2823	couch	a long soft seat	We sat on the couch.
2833	closet	a cupboard for clothes (US)	Hang your coat in the closet.
2843	bowl	a deep round dish	A bowl of soup, please.
2858	museum	a building that displays objects	We spent the day at the museum.
2871	sandwich	food between two slices of bread	I made a cheese sandwich.
2925	wallet	a small case for money and cards	I lost my wallet.
2971	tunnel	a passage under or through something	The train went through a tunnel.
3000	cave	a hollow space in rock	Bats live in the cave.

Time and amount

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
2004	period	a length of time	We waited for a short period.
2071	millions	very large numbers (plural of million)	Millions of people watched.
2166	midnight	twelve o’clock at night	The party ended at midnight.
2174	dawn	the first light of day	We left at dawn.
2184	vacation	a holiday from work or school (US)	They went on vacation.
2284	holiday	a day off; a trip	Monday is a public holiday.
2411	twenty	the number 20	She is twenty years old.
2605	percent	parts in a hundred	Prices rose by ten percent.
2746	dozen	a set of twelve	I bought a dozen eggs.
2777	billion	a thousand million	The company is worth a billion.
2809	quarter	one of four equal parts; fifteen minutes	It is a quarter past three.

Example sentences

Play each line and say it aloud. These put a spread of the words above into natural B2 sentences.

Her knowledge and confidence made a strong impression.

Three set words in one sentence.
The firefighters managed to rescue the family from the smoke.

'manage to' + verb; rescue from danger.
I am grateful for the treatment I received at the hospital.

grateful, treatment, receive together.
Do not assume the worst; stay positive.

assume and positive in advice.
The reporter refused to reveal the source.

reporter, refuse in a news context.
It would be rude to leave without saying goodbye.

'rude' judging behaviour.
The soup was delicious, but the service was nasty.

A contrast of strong adjectives.
She has a rare talent for solving hard problems.

rare, talent, solve.
Can I borrow your charger? I will return it at midnight.

borrow (not lend) and a time word.
The company has a good reputation for quality.

reputation and quality.
A stranger approached and asked for directions.

stranger, approach.
They celebrated their success with the whole team.

celebrate + success (successful).
The guards were suspicious of the parked vehicle.

guards, suspicious, vehicle.
He showed great courage when he defended his friend.

courage and defend.
Please remove the old battery and press the button.

remove and button, everyday instructions.
The museum is closed for a short period.

museum and period of time.

Recap cheat-sheet

How to use this band well.

Cheat sheet: how to use the 2001-3000 English frequency band

Quick recap before the quiz.

Point	Note
Rank column	real position in the frequency list
curated core	about 160 of the 1,000 words shown
skipped on purpose	proper names, fragments, strong slang
best study method	learn in meaning groups, not by number

Practice

Words 2001-3000 practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each word to its meaning.

reputation Match for reputation
borrow Match for borrow
rescue Match for rescue
grateful Match for grateful

Show answer

reputation → the opinion people have of you
borrow → take and give back later
rescue → save from danger
grateful → thankful

Matching fixes the meaning before you use the word.

2 Complete: The medicine finally ____ my cough. (make healthy again)

Hint: past tense of a 'c' verb

Show answer

cured — 'cure' means to make healthy again; past tense 'cured'.

3 Complete with an adjective meaning 'strange': That is an ____ thing to say.

Hint: three letters

Show answer

odd — 'odd' means strange or unusual.

4 Which word means 'to say no to an offer'? receive refuse repeat remove

Show answer

refuse — 'refuse' means to say no to something offered.

5 Choose the best word: The crowd was ___ — thousands of people. massive silent pure rare

Show answer

massive — 'massive' means very large.

6 Put the words in order.

Show answer

the firefighters rescued the family — Subject-verb-object: the firefighters rescued the family.

Quiz

Next set: 100 Essential English Verbs
Study skills: How to Use Flashcards for English, Spaced Repetition Explained
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English Words 2001-3000 (Frequency)

By the end of this page you can…

How this set was chosen

Ideas and qualities

People and roles

Verbs

Adjectives

Objects and places

Time and amount

Example sentences

Recap cheat-sheet

Practice

Words 2001-3000 practice

Quiz

Words 2001-3000 quiz

Next

All English vocabulary topics

Vocabulary