Virtuous English AcademyTechnology & Innovation — B1 English Vocabulary
This B1 vocabulary list gathers 40 intermediate English words about technology & innovation — machines, software and bright new ideas. Every word comes with a simple definition, its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.
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Using technology & innovation words in English
Technology words travel between languages faster than any others, which means they arrive with their grammar stripped off. The three most useful things to fix on this page are: technology is normally uncountable, machine and engine are not the same object, and English has three adjectives from the word electric that are used in three different places. None of these will stop you being understood, but all three are visible in writing.
What to watch out for
Electric, electrical, electronic
Electric goes with things that run on electricity or produce it: an electric car, an electric guitar. Electrical describes the field or the system in general: an electrical engineer, an electrical fault. Electronic means containing circuits and chips: electronic devices, electronic music. A rough guide: electric for a single appliance, electrical for the profession, electronic for anything with a processor.
An engine burns fuel; a machine does work
An engine converts fuel into movement, which is why cars, planes and trains have them. A motor does the same job from electricity. A machine is any device built to perform a task, so a washing machine has a motor but is not itself an engine. Search engines borrow the word metaphorically, which is worth noticing rather than reasoning about.
Technology and code resist the plural
Technology has changed everything — uncountable when you mean the field. It becomes countable only for specific named ones: new technologies such as blockchain. Code is uncountable in programming: write code, a line of code, never codes unless you mean secret ones. Innovation goes both ways — uncountable for the process, countable for a particular new thing.
Words learners mix up
Three tables: four nouns for the things themselves and how English counts them, the four verbs you need before anything will work, and four adjectives that each claim something different about how new it is.
Four nouns for the objects, and how they count
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| equipment | Uncountable. The countable unit is a piece of equipment, so there is no an equipment and no plural. | The lab has some expensive equipment. |
| tool | Countable, and it works figuratively too: a language app is a useful tool. | A dictionary is still the best tool for this. |
| gadget | Countable, informal, and always small. It carries a hint that the thing is clever but not essential. | He buys every new kitchen gadget. |
| system | Countable and extremely broad — software, machinery, or a way of doing something. | The booking system went down this morning. |
Equipment is the one that costs marks, because most languages count it and English does not: a sentence needs two pieces of equipment or simply some equipment. It belongs to a small group of uncountable collective nouns that behave identically — furniture, machinery and luggage among them — so fixing one fixes all four.
Four verbs you need before it will work
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| install | To put software or hardware in place. The thing it goes on takes on, and the noun is installation. | I have installed the update on both laptops. |
| upgrade | To move to a better version. It takes to, and it is a noun with the same spelling. | We upgraded to the newer model. |
| operate | The formal verb for making a machine work. In speech people say use or run. | Only trained staff may operate this machine. |
| switch | British English says switch on and switch off. Switch to means change to something else entirely. | Please switch off your phones. |
Two of these have a life outside technology that can catch you out. Operate is also what a surgeon does, which is why she was operated on has nothing to do with machinery. Switch as a noun is the physical thing on the wall, and British English tends to say switch on where American English prefers turn on, though both are understood everywhere.
Four adjectives, four different claims
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| modern | Belonging to the present. It also names historical periods, as in modern history or modern art. | This is a very modern building. |
| advanced | At a high level of development or difficulty. It says nothing about the date. | The software has some advanced features. |
| innovative | Doing something in a genuinely new way. Stress falls on the first syllable. | It is an innovative approach to storage. |
| automatic | Working without a person. The adverb automatically is extremely common in everyday English. | The doors are automatic. |
Modern and advanced are not synonyms, and mixing them produces sentences that read strangely: a phone from 2015 is not modern but may still be advanced, while a modern building can be technically simple. Innovative makes the strongest claim of the three and is the one job adverts and product descriptions overuse, so it carries less weight than its meaning suggests.
Collocations that sound natural
Six words that live inside phrases, and three of them are also verbs with an entirely different meaning from the noun. The frames are what keep the two senses apart.
monitor
closely monitormonitor progressa heart monitora computer monitor
As a verb it means to watch something over time and it is common in formal writing: the situation is being closely monitored. As a noun it is either a screen or a medical device, and the two noun senses have nothing to do with each other.
storage
storage spacecloud storagerun out of storagein storage
Uncountable, so never storages. In storage means your possessions are being kept somewhere while you are elsewhere, and it is the everyday British use of the word, quite separate from the computing one.
remote
a remote controlremote workinga remote villagelog in remotely
Three senses share the spelling: far away, done from a distance, and the handset itself, which British English shortens to the remote. Remote working is now the standard term in British job adverts, alongside hybrid.
satellite
a satellite dishsatellite navigationlaunch a satelliteby satellite
Countable, and it appears as the first half of many compounds where it works like an adjective: satellite television, satellite images. British English shortens satellite navigation to sat nav, which is now the ordinary word for the device in a car.
feature
a key featurethe latest featuresfeature heavilya feature of
As a noun it is one part of what something does, and it takes of. As a verb it means to include prominently, which is why a film features an actor. Both are common, and the verb is the one learners meet less often.
design
by designa design faultwell designedgraphic design
Noun and verb with one spelling and one stress, unlike many of the pairs on this list. By design means deliberately and is the opposite of by accident, and a design fault blames the plan rather than the manufacture.
Where each word belongs
Seven words carrying a second meaning, a change of word class or a date stamp. Technology vocabulary ages faster than any other, which is why some of these sound modern and others already do not.
- technicalTwo senses · one about detailRelating to machines and how they work, as in technical support. But a technical point means a fine detail of the rules, and a technicality is a small formal reason for a decision, often used with a hint of complaint. Both senses are common in writing.
- manualAdjective, noun, and a carAs an adjective it means done by hand rather than by machine, as in manual work. As a noun it is the book of instructions. In Britain a manual is also a car you change gear in yourself, where American English says stick shift.
- virtualTwo senses that barely connectIn computing it means existing only on a screen: a virtual meeting, virtual reality. But virtually as an adverb means almost, so virtually everyone agreed has nothing to do with technology at all. This second sense is far more common in general writing.
- wirelessAdjective now · once a nounToday it simply means without a cable, and it appears everywhere in wireless headphones and wireless charging. As a noun the wireless was the British word for a radio until roughly the 1960s, and it now sounds charmingly old-fashioned.
- artificialNeutral in tech, negative in foodIn artificial intelligence it is purely descriptive. On a food label — artificial colours, artificial flavourings — British readers take it as a warning, and manufacturers advertise the absence of it. The context decides entirely.
- droneNew noun · very old verbThe flying device is a recent sense of a word that already existed. The verb drone on means to talk at length in a boring monotone, and the noun also names the low continuous sound of an engine. The three senses coexist without confusion.
- innovationWriting · countable and notUncountable when it means the activity — a culture of innovation — and countable when it names one new thing: a series of innovations. It belongs firmly to written and business English; in conversation people simply say a new idea.
Sentences to try
Four frames using the distinctions above. Describe a device you own with each of them.
- They are developing artificial intelligence for medical use.
- My brother is an electrical engineer at a car factory.
- Technology has transformed the way we work.
- The machine stops automatically if the system detects a fault.
Questions about technology & innovation vocabulary
What is the difference between electric, electrical and electronic?
Electric describes a specific device powered by electricity or producing it: an electric kettle, an electric shock. Electrical describes the wider field, systems and professions: electrical engineering, an electrical fault, electrical goods. Electronic means built from circuits that process signals: electronic devices, an electronic signature. A quick test: if you can point at one appliance, electric; if you mean the trade or the wiring, electrical; if it has a chip inside, electronic.
Is "technology" countable?
Usually not. When it means the field as a whole, technology is uncountable and takes a singular verb with no article: Technology is advancing quickly. It becomes countable only when you mean particular, distinguishable technologies: emerging technologies, a technology that could replace batteries. The same pattern applies to innovation: uncountable for the process — innovation is essential — and countable for individual new things — a series of innovations.
What is the difference between an engine and a motor?
An engine produces movement by burning fuel, which is why cars, aircraft and ships have engines. A motor produces movement from electricity, so an electric car has a motor rather than an engine. In practice the words overlap in everyday speech — a car is a motor vehicle even with a petrol engine — but the technical split is real. A machine is broader again: any built device that performs work, from a washing machine to a printing press.