Vocabulary is all the words in a language, or a special group of words. Studying flash cards and making an effort to integrate new words into your everyday speech is a great way to expand your vocabulary.
First used in the 1500s to mean a list of words with explanations, the noun vocabulary came to refer to the “range of language of a person or group” about two hundred years later. A lot of hobbies, like dance or knitting, require that you learn their unique vocabulary before you can get the most out of them. If you're in a rush, vocab is a faster way to say vocabulary.