Improve Your Vocabulary for IELTS – Key Word: Size

Expanding your vocabulary is key to performing well in IELTS, especially in Speaking and Writing. The word “size” appears in many everyday and academic contexts. Learning its collocations and expressions will help you describe objects, people, and concepts more accurately, giving your language a more natural and precise feel.

Expressions with Prepositions

Prepositions often combine with size to show measurement, comparison, or adjustment. Mastering these will help you in both IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing, especially when describing objects, populations, or processes.

Practice Exercise

Use the correct preposition: into, in, on, up, to

1. Over the last ten years, the village has greatly increased ______ size. In fact, the population has almost doubled.
2. The wood needs to be cut ______ size before it is nailed into place.
3. The eggs of this bird vary ______ size from 5 to 10 centimeters.
4. In the factory, the fruit is sorted ______ different sizes by machine.
5. A college principal can earn anywhere between £35,000 and £100,000 a year, depending ______ the size of the college.
6. Radiotherapy has managed to shrink the tumor ______ the size of a pea.
7. People come ______ all sorts of shapes and sizes. If you don’t believe me, come to my exercise class!
8. I think the next time I buy trousers, I’ll need to go ______ a size. I’ve put on some weight.

Answer Key

1. in
2. to
3. in
4. into
5. on
6. to
7. in
8. up

Common Adjective + Size Collocations

Adjectives add nuance to the word size, helping you describe objects, spaces, or people more effectively.

Practice Exercise

Cross out the wrong adjective in the following sentences:

1. The sheer / big size of the country makes it difficult to govern.
2. Despite its minimal / small size, the car is surprisingly comfortable.
3. This bag is a handy / right size for carrying my sports equipment.
4. These plants grow to a maximum / full size of 50 cm in two years.
5. When I was stung by a bee, my foot swelled up to twice its average / normal size.
6. There was a life-size model of Napoleon at the exhibition which showed the actual / normal size of the man. I never realised how small he was.
7. The bathroom is a bit small, but the kitchen is a good / bad size.
8. Our house is quite a workable / manageable size. Some people think it’s too big.
9. Paper comes in standard / common sizes.
10. The very / great size of the Palace is what makes it so impressive.

Answer Key

1. sheer
2. small
3. handy
4. maximum
5. normal
6. actual
7. good
8. manageable
9. standard
10. great

Common Situations: Talking About Size

Learning practical expressions with size helps you sound natural in daily conversations.

Practice Exercise

Complete the sentences with: your, my, French, take, several, half, up to, collar

1. What’s your ______ size?
2. This is a lovely flat. Mine is only ______ the size!
3. Did you find a new skirt?
4. No, I couldn’t find one in ______ size that I liked.
5. I’m sorry I don’t have any in ______ size in stock at the moment.
6. This pullover isn’t just too big. It’s ______ sizes too big. I don’t know why you bought it!
7. Have you got a size 16?
8. I’m sorry, this style only goes ______ size 12.
9. What size of battery does it ______?
10. If it’s a ______ 85, that means it’s a UK size 32.

Answer Key

1. collar
2. half
3. my
4. my
5. your
6. several
7. up to
8. up to
9. take
10. French

Other Notes on Using Size

Comparing and Describing Size

• The towns are similar in size, but different in character.
• Their house is about the same size as ours.
• The wheels are different in size / different sizes.
• The planet Venus is roughly the same size as the Earth.

Verb + Size Collocations

• In my opinion, reducing the size of classes would improve educational standards.
• The company has had a successful year and has decided to increase the size of its workforce.

Practical Tips for IELTS

• Speaking: Use collocations like good size, manageable size, or several sizes too big when talking about homes, clothes, or objects.
• Writing: Use sheer size, increase the size of, or similar in size to describe graphs, populations, or comparisons.
• Listening & Reading: Recognizing these collocations will help you quickly understand descriptions in passages about products, cities, or scientific topics.

The word size is more versatile than many learners realize. From describing everyday objects (a handy size bag) to academic comparisons (the city is similar in size to London) or practical situations (up to several sizes too big), mastering its collocations helps you speak and write naturally and accurately. Regularly practicing these expressions will expand your vocabulary, improve your confidence, and help boost your IELTS Band Score.

For those aiming for top scores, following the IELTS Exam Preparation Tips for Band Score of 8+ can further enhance your vocabulary and overall test performance.

Also Check: 

• Improve Your Vocabulary for IELTS – Key Word: Space
• Grammar For IELTS: Expressions Of Quantity
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 1
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 2)
• Using Contrast in IELTS Speaking & Writing: Advanced Grammar in IELTS
• 100+ Advanced Vocabulary Word List for IELTS (PDF Available)
• Especially vs Specially for IELTS Grammar: Lessons, Examples, Usage & Exercise