lecture

[ lek-cher ]
See synonyms for lecture on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a speech read or delivered before an audience or class, especially for instruction or to set forth some subject: a lecture on Picasso's paintings.

  2. a speech of warning or reproof as to conduct; a long, tedious reprimand.

verb (used without object),lec·tured, lec·tur·ing.
  1. to give a lecture or series of lectures: He spent the year lecturing to various student groups.

verb (used with object),lec·tured, lec·tur·ing.
  1. to deliver a lecture to or before; instruct by lectures.

  2. to rebuke or reprimand at some length: He lectured the child regularly but with little effect.

Origin of lecture

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin lēctūra “a reading”; see lection, -ure

Other words for lecture

Other words from lecture

  • pre·lec·ture, noun, adjective, verb, pre·lec·tured, pre·lec·tur·ing.
  • un·lec·tured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lecture in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lecture

lecture

/ (ˈlɛktʃə) /


noun
  1. a discourse on a particular subject given or read to an audience

  2. the text of such a discourse

  1. a method of teaching by formal discourse

  2. a lengthy reprimand or scolding

verb
  1. to give or read a lecture (to an audience or class)

  2. (tr) to reprimand at length

Origin of lecture

1
C14: from Medieval Latin lectūra reading, from legere to read

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012