ENGLISH
REFERENCE

lecture

n. countable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈɫɛktʃɝ// UK //lˈɛktʃɐ// lec·ture Academic Archaic General-service

n. a formal talk given to a group of people to teach them about a specific subject. You usually hear these at a university or college.

n. an educational talk delivered to an audience, typically in a higher education setting. Often implies a one-way flow of information from the speaker to the listeners.


SIMPLE

I have a history lecture at ten o'clock.

CONTEXTUAL

The professor gave a fascinating lecture on the history of ancient architecture to a crowded hall of students.

COMPLEX

While the introductory lecture provided a broad overview of the subject, the subsequent seminars allowed for a more nuanced discussion of the specific case studies presented.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English lecture, lectour, letture, letteur, lettur, lectury, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin lectura (“reading”), from Latin lectus, past participle of legō (“to read, recite”).

Usage

Often takes the preposition 'on' or 'about' to indicate the subject matter.

Pitfall

I am going to a lecture of biology.I am going to a biology lecture.While 'lecture on biology' is correct, using 'of' is a common error; it is more natural to use the subject as a noun adjunct before 'lecture'.

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