What does it mean to know a word? Word knowledge has different levels.
Every word in our word bank has a place somewhere on our word knowledge spectrum. On one end, we know a word very well and feel comfortable using it in the spoken and written language, and on the other end, we don't know a word exists.
Between these two ends of the word knowledge spectrum are other levels: We might know a word exists but not be able to define it. We might be able to guess the meaning, especially in context. We might know what a word means when it's heard or read but not feel confident to use it because we don't know its pronunciation, spelling, or usage.
