noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ brief , fleeting , passing
▪ long
▪ precious , rare
▪
They were making the most of those last precious ~s together.
▪ intimate , quiet
▪ anxious , awful , awkward , embarrassing , heart-stopping , tense , terrifying
▪
For one heart-stopping ~, we thought she was going to fall.
▪ bad , difficult
▪
That was a bad ~ in my life.
▪ odd , spare
▪
Could you look through this report when you have a spare ~?
▪ exact , particular , precise , very
▪
I felt at home here from the very ~ I arrived.
▪ good , opportune , perfect , right
▪
I don't think this is the right ~ to ask for a bonus.
▪ inopportune , wrong
▪ big , critical , crucial , decisive , defining , important , key , pivotal , seminal , watershed
▪
I didn't want to screw up my big ~.
▪
We have reached a critical ~ in the negotiations.
▪ historic , historical
▪ climactic , dramatic
▪ blissful , glorious , magic , magical , marvellous/marvelous , memorable , unforgettable , wonderful
▪ emotional , poignant , tender , touching
▪ funny , humorous
▪
This is one of the book's funniest ~s.
▪ crowning , finest , great , happiest , proudest , shining ( esp. AmE )
▪
Her finest ~ came when she won the Nobel Prize.
▪ unguarded
▪
She let the news slip in an unguarded ~.
▪ senior ( humorous ) (= a forgetful occasion)
▪
It was a bad time to have a senior ~.
▪ final , last
▪
Why do you leave it until the last possible ~ before getting ready?
VERB + MOMENT
▪ last , take
▪
The feeling only lasted a ~.
▪
This won't take a ~.
▪ hesitate (for) , pause (for) , wait (for)
▪
She paused a ~ to reflect.
▪ spend
▪
I spent a few ~s thinking what I was going to say.
▪ give sb , spare (sb)
▪
I can only spare you a ~, I'm afraid.
▪ enjoy , relish , savour/savor
▪
Victory was sweet, and she relished every ~.
▪ cherish , treasure
▪
I treasure the ~s we spent together.
▪ recall , relive , remember
▪
Afterwards she relived every ~ in her head.
▪ dread
▪
I dread the ~ when she finds out.
▪ choose , pick , seize
▪
He's in a bad mood today—you need to choose your ~ carefully.
▪ capture
▪
I managed to capture the ~ on film.
MOMENT + VERB
▪ arrive , come , occur
▪
The ~ had finally come to make a move.
▪ pass
▪
He opened his mouth to say he loved her, but the ~ passed.
PREPOSITION
▪ after a/the ~
▪
After a ~ we followed him.
▪ at a/the ~
▪
At that very ~ the phone rang.
▪
He might wake up at any ~.
▪ for a/the ~
▪
She paused for a ~.
▪ from a/the ~
▪
I loved her from the first ~ I met her.
▪ in a/the ~
▪
I'll be back in a ~.
▪
in her rare ~s of leisure
▪ ~ in
▪
a great ~ in the country's history
▪ ~ of
▪
at the ~ of death
▪
It was the proudest ~ of my entire life.
▪
There was a ~ of silence.
PHRASES
▪ at a given ~ , at any given ~
▪
You need to be aware of what you are doing at any given ~.
▪ every waking ~
▪
I don't expect to spend every waking ~ at work.
▪ a few ~s
▪
Could you wait a few ~s?
▪ in the heat of the ~
▪
In the heat of the ~ she forgot what she wanted to say.
▪ a ~ ago
▪
He was here just a ~ ago.
▪ a ~ later
▪
A ~ later, the ceiling fell in.
▪ a ~ longer , a ~ more
▪
I couldn't stand it a ~ longer.
▪ a ~ or two
▪
I stood there for a ~ or two.
▪ never a dull ~
▪
There's never a dull ~ in this job.
▪ not a ~ too soon
▪ the present ~
▪
At the present ~, we do not have a choice.