一、定义猜词法
即根据定义猜测词义的方法。需要定义或解释的单词或短语大多是专有名词、生僻词或文中的关键词，作者为了使读者正确理解它们，就得做出较浅显的解释或说明。
例一：Giraffe is an animal with a very long neck, four legs and orange skin with dark spots.根据后面对 Giraffe 的解释，它的词义为“长颈鹿”。
例二：Anthropology is the scientific study of man.由定义可知 Anthropology 的词义为“研究人类的科学”即“人类学”。
例三：What is plagiarism? It is using others’ ideas and words without clearly mentioning where the information is from.根据定义我们知道plagiarism的词义为“剽窃”。
二、定语从句
定语从句对先行词起限定、修饰或解释作用，因此我们可以利用定语从句来推测先行词的词义。
例一：Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuvoricans.
Nuvoricans 的词义可以由Second generation Puerto Ricans后面的两个定语从句来得到， 即生在纽约，后又回到波多黎各的人。
例二：Psychophysiology is a science which deals with the relationship between mind and body.根据定语从句我们可以看出Psychophysiology的意思为“身心联系的科学”，即“心理生理学”。
三、同位短语或同位语从句
同位关系的两部分之间多用逗号连接，有时也用破折号、分号、引号和括号连接。
例一：According to a report published on the British medical magazine, The Lancet, a study of ten German mobile phone users found that when they turned on their phones, their blood pressure goes up by 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury.根据句法结构的知识，我们知道The Lancet是the British medical magazine的同位语，由此可知The Lancet是一个杂志的名称。
例二：Semantics, the study of the meaning of words, is necessary if you are to speak and read intelligently.两个逗号中间的短语the study of the meaning of words是Semantics的同位语，意为“对词义进行研究的科学”， 即“语义学”。
