academia
US /ˌækəˈdimiə/
UK /ˌækəˈdi:miə/
- Uncountable Noun
- Academic world; universities and their staff
- The environment or culture of universities and colleges, characterized by intellectual pursuits.
B2Moreacademic
US /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/
UK /ˌækə'demɪk/
- Adjective
- Concerning education, schools, universities, etc.
- Concerning education, schools, universities, etc.
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Educator teaching at a college or university
- A subject taught at schools and universities.
B1Moreambition
US /æmˈbɪʃən/
UK /æmˈbɪʃn/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Desire to win or be successful in life, work
A2TOEICMoreat that time
US /æt ðæt taɪm/
UK /æt ðæt taim/
- Phrase
- During a specific point in the past.
A1Moreautomation
US /ˌɔtəˈmeʃən/
UK /ˌɔ:təˈmeɪʃn/
- Uncountable Noun
- Use of machines to do tasks once done by people
B2Morebrilliance
US /ˈbrɪljəns/
UK /'brɪlɪəns/
- Uncountable Noun
- Great amount of skill or intelligence
- The (great amount of) brightness of something
B2Morecamaraderie
US /ˌkɑməˈrɑdəri, ˌkæməˈrædə-/
UK /kɑ:məˈrɑ:dəri:/
- Uncountable Noun
- Good feeling of togetherness
- A spirit of good friendship and loyalty among members of a group.
C1Morecareer
US /kəˈrɪr/
UK /kə'rɪə(r)/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Particular occupation in professional life
- The course of a person's life, especially in a particular pursuit or profession.
- Verb (Transitive/Intransitive)
- To move forward very fast and without control
- To advance or make progress rapidly
A2Morecohort
US /ˈkoˌhɔrt/
UK /ˈkəuhɔ:t/
- Countable Noun
- Group of students studying something together
- Friends or supporters of a person
B2TOEICMorecome back
US /kʌm bæk/
UK /kʌm bæk/
- Phrasal Verb
- To reply to someone, often forcefully
- To be remembered
A1Morecommencement
US /kəˈmɛnsmənt/
UK /kəˈmensmənt/
- Noun
- Time at which something begins
B1Morecommittee
US /kəˈmɪti/
UK /kəˈmɪti/
- Countable Noun
- Group of people who do or decide something
- A body of people formally appointed to consider or take action on a particular matter.
A2Morededicated
US /ˈdɛdɪˌketɪd/
UK /'dedɪkeɪtɪd/
- Transitive Verb
- To state a person's name in book, song, in respect
- To give your energy, time, etc. completely
- Adjective
- Devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity.
- Designed for or devoted to a specific purpose or task.
B1Moredefine
US /dɪˈfaɪn/
UK /dɪ'faɪn/
- Transitive Verb
- To explain the meaning of words
- To set or mark the limits of something
A2TOEICMoredegree
US /dɪˈɡri/
UK /dɪˈgri:/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Amount or extent of something
- Unit for measuring temperature or angles
A2TOEICMoredelight
US /dɪˈlaɪt/
UK /dɪ'laɪt/
- Uncountable Noun
- Strong feeling of great pleasure
- Transitive Verb
- To give someone pleasure or joy
B1Moredepict
US /dɪˈpɪkt/
UK /dɪ'pɪkt/
- Transitive Verb
- To represent or describe something using words
- To represent or show something in a picture or painting; to portray visually.
B1TOEICMoredissertation
US /ˌdɪsɚˈteʃən/
UK /ˌdɪsəˈteɪʃn/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- An in-depth paper submitted for a higher degree
B2Moredividend
US /ˈdɪvɪˌdɛnd/
UK /'dɪvɪdend/
- Countable Noun
- Money given to the owners of stock in a company
- A benefit received as a result of something.
B1Moredung
US /dʌŋ/
UK /dʌŋ/
- Uncountable Noun
- Excretion from animals
B2Moreextend
US /ɪkˈstɛnd/
UK /ɪkˈstend/
- Transitive Verb
- To offer something (help, friendship) to someone
- To reach from one point to another
A2TOEICMorefascination
US /ˌfæsəˈneʃən/
UK /ˌfæsɪˈneɪʃn/
- Uncountable Noun
- Quality that attracts attention
- The state of being fascinated
- Countable Noun
- A thing that fascinates
B1Morefeel like
US
UK
- Intransitive Verb
- To have a desire or inclination for something.
- To have a particular quality or sensation; resemble.
A1Morefellow
US /ˈfɛlo/
UK /'feləʊ/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Man or a boy
- Student paid to study and teach after college
- Adjective
- Being of the same kind
- Sharing a particular activity, situation, or characteristic.
A2TOEICMorefiat
US /ˈfiət, -ˌæt, -ˌɑt, ˈfaɪˌæt, -ət/
UK /ˈfi:æt/
- Noun
- Official order from a person of authority
C1Moreflaw
US /flɔ/
UK /flɔ:/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Quality that makes something imperfect
- A weakness or undesirable quality.
- Transitive Verb
- To impair, damage, or spoil.
B1TOEICMorefrom the first
US /frəm ðə ˈfɝst/
UK /frəm ðə ˈfɜ:st/
- other
- From the very beginning.
B2Morego back to
US /ɡo bæk tu/
UK /ɡəu bæk tu:/
- Phrasal Verb
- To return to a starting point
A1Moregranddaughter
US /ˈɡrænˌdɔtɚ/
UK /ˈgrændɔ:tə(r)/
- Countable Noun
- Your son or daughter's daughter
B2Moregrandmother
US /ˈɡrændˌmʌðɚ, ˈɡræn-/
UK /ˈgrænmʌðə(r)/
- Noun
- Your mother or father's mother
B2Morein debt
US /ɪn dɛt/
UK /in det/
- Phrase
- State of owing money to a person or institution
- Adjective
- Owing money.
A2Morein the world
US /ɪn ði wɜrld/
UK /in ðə wɜː(r)ld/
- Phrase
- Used to emphasize a question expressing surprise, confusion, disbelief
- Used to indicate the extent or degree of something, often in a superlative sense
A1Moreinspire
US /ɪnˈspaɪr/
UK /ɪn'spaɪə(r)/
- Transitive Verb
- To give someone an idea to do or make something
- To make someone feel a certain emotion
- Intransitive Verb
- To breathe in
- To draw (air, etc.) into the lungs.
B1TOEICMorejourney
US /ˈdʒɚni/
UK /'dʒɜ:nɪ/
- Noun
- Act of traveling from one place to another; trip
- Intransitive Verb
- To travel through a place
A2TOEICMorelook around
US /lʊk əˈraʊnd/
UK /luk əˈraund/
- Phrasal Verb
- To explore a place; search for something.
A1Morelook at
US /lʊk æt/
UK /luk æt/
- Phrasal Verb
- To use your eyes to focus on something
- To focus your eyes on something carefully
A1Moremajor
US /ˈmedʒɚ/
UK /'meɪdʒə(r)/
- Countable Noun
- High-ranking officer in the army
- Main subject you study at university
- Adjective
- Main league; esp. referring to American baseball
- Important, serious, or large in scope, size
A2TOEICMorementor
US /'mentɔ:r/
UK /'mentɔ:(r)/
- Countable Noun
- Experienced or wise person who advises others
- Transitive Verb
- To act as an advisor or teacher to someone
B2TOEICMoremicro
US /ˈmaɪkro/
UK /'maɪkrəʊ/
- Noun
- A prefix meaning 'very small'
B2Morenumerous
US /ˈnumərəs, ˈnju-/
UK /ˈnju:mərəs/
- Adjective
- Existing in large numbers
- Consisting of many things or people.
B1Moreoptimization
US /ˌɑptəmɪˈzeʃən/
UK /ˌɒptɪmaɪ'zeɪʃən/
- Uncountable Noun
- Efforts to make as effective as possible
B2Morepartially
US /ˈpɑ:rʃəli/
UK /ˈpɑ:ʃəli/
- Adverb
- In part; in some degree; not wholly
B1Morepassion
US /ˈpæʃən/
UK /'pæʃn/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Powerful, positive excitement and interest
- Something for which one has a great love
A2Morephd
US
UK
- Noun
- Advanced university degree; Doctor of Philosophy
C2Morepresentation
US /ˌprɛzənˈteʃən, ˌprizən-/
UK /ˌpreznˈteɪʃn/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Act of giving a formal talk about something
- Way in which something is displayed or shown
A2Moreprofound
US /prəˈfaʊnd, pro-/
UK /prə'faʊnd/
- Adjective
- Requiring deep thought; difficult to understand
- Showing a lot of deep thought or understanding
B1Moreproud
US /praʊd/
UK /praʊd/
- Adjective
- Very good; worthy of making one pleased
- Having or showing respect for yourself; having dignity.
B1TOEICMoreregardless of
US /rɪˈɡɑrdlɪs ʌv/
UK /riˈɡɑ:dlis ɔv/
- Phrase
- Preposition
- Without being affected or influenced by something; despite.
A2Morerepresentation
US /ˌrɛprɪzɛnˈteʃən/
UK /ˌreprɪzenˈteɪʃn/
- Noun
- Depicting objects, figures, or scenes as seen
- Picture showing something in a particular way
A2Moreresearch
US /rɪˈsɚtʃ, ˈriˌsɚtʃ/
UK /rɪ'sɜ:tʃ/
- Verb (Transitive/Intransitive)
- To study in order to discover new ideas and facts
- To study the market relating to marketing products and services.
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Study done to discover new ideas and facts
- A particular area or topic of study.
A2TOEICMoreresilience
US /rɪˈzɪljəns/
UK /rɪˈzɪliəns/
- Uncountable Noun
- Ability to recover quickly from something bad
- The capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
B2TOEICMoresensor
US /ˈsɛnsɚ, -ˌsɔr/
UK /ˈsensə(r)/
- Noun
- Device that detects movement or physical stimuli
B2Moreshockwave
US
UK
- Noun
- A wave of energy (e.g. after an earthquake)
C2Morespacecraft
US /ˈspeɪskræft/
UK /ˈspeɪskrɑ:ft/
- Noun
- Vehicle capable of traveling to outer space
- An unmanned probe or satellite designed for space exploration.
C2Moresteer
US /stɪr/
UK /stɪə(r)/
- Countable Noun
- A cow
- Transitive Verb
- To control the direction in which something moves
B1Morestrength
US /strɛŋkθ, strɛŋθ, strɛnθ/
UK /streŋθ/
- Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
- Condition of being strong
- The quality or state of being physically strong.
A2TOEICMoresurvive
US /sɚˈvaɪv/
UK /sə'vaɪv/
- Intransitive Verb
- To continue to live despite illness or trouble
A2TOEICMoretribute
US /ˈtrɪbjut/
UK /'trɪbju:t/
- Noun
- Something that is said or done to show respect
- Payment, e.g. to another country, for protection
B1Moreturbulent
US /ˈtɜ:rbjələnt/
UK /ˈtɜ:bjələnt/
- Adjective
- (Of water) moving violently and unevenly
- (Of times) unstable and unpredictable
B2Morework on
US /wɚk ɑn/
UK /wə:k ɔn/
- Phrasal Verb
- To devote effort to improve or develop something
- To try to persuade or influence someone.
A1More
Vocabulary
- come back: To reply to someone, often forcefully
- work on: To devote effort to improve or develop something
- in debt: State of owing money to a person or institution
- at that time: During a specific point in the past.
- from the first: From the very beginning.
- in the world: Used to emphasize a question expressing surprise, confusion, disbelief
- look around: To explore a place; search for something.
- feel like: To have a desire or inclination for something.
- go back to: To return to a starting point
- look at: To use your eyes to focus on something
- regardless of
- dedicated: To state a person's name in book, song, in respect
- resilience: Ability to recover quickly from something bad
- profound: Requiring deep thought; difficult to understand
- journey: Act of traveling from one place to another; trip
- strength: Condition of being strong
- career: Particular occupation in professional life
- academic: Concerning education, schools, universities, etc.
- research: To study in order to discover new ideas and facts
- flaw: Quality that makes something imperfect
- presentation: Act of giving a formal talk about something
- wonder: Surprise caused by experiencing something amazing
- inspire: To give someone an idea to do or make something
- numerous: Existing in large numbers
- passion: Powerful, positive excitement and interest
- define: To explain the meaning of words
- ambition: Desire to win or be successful in life, work
- survive: To continue to live despite illness or trouble
- introduce: To open an essay to set the scene
- fellow: Man or a boy
- steer: A cow
- depict: To represent or describe something using words
- degree: Amount or extent of something
- break: To create a new record e.g. running the 100m dash
- major: High-ranking officer in the army
- tribute: Something that is said or done to show respect
- mentor: Experienced or wise person who advises others
- delight: Strong feeling of great pleasure
- fascination: Quality that attracts attention
- extend: To offer something (help, friendship) to someone
- proud: Very good; worthy of making one pleased
- committee: Group of people who do or decide something
- partially: In part; in some degree; not wholly
- build: Your physical shape; physique
- representation: Depicting objects, figures, or scenes as seen
- commencement: Time at which something begins
- great: Very good; better than before
- hard: Difficult to do; difficult to understand
- include: To make someone, something part of a group
- dividend: Money given to the owners of stock in a company
- world: All the humans, events, activities on the earth
- turbulent: (Of water) moving violently and unevenly
- human: A person; a man, woman or child
- picture: General situation or state of being
- time: Speed at which music is played; tempo
- machine: Piece of equipment used to do work
- light: To cause something to burn; put a burning match to
- live: To be alive
- people: Persons sharing culture, country, background, etc.
- spacecraft: Vehicle capable of traveling to outer space
- camaraderie: Good feeling of togetherness
- dung: Excretion from animals
- cohort: Group of students studying something together
- dissertation: An in-depth paper submitted for a higher degree
- sensor: Device that detects movement or physical stimuli
- fiat: Official order from a person of authority
- academia: Academic world; universities and their staff
- automation: Use of machines to do tasks once done by people
- brilliance: Great amount of skill or intelligence
- micro: A prefix meaning 'very small'
- optimization: Efforts to make as effective as possible
- grandmother: Your mother or father's mother
- phd: Advanced university degree; Doctor of Philosophy
- shockwave: A wave of energy (e.g. after an earthquake)
- granddaughter: Your son or daughter's daughter
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01:03
She took a brave step forward, leaving behind her comfort zone to chase her dreams.
Vocabulary
- brave
adj. Having courage
- comfort zone
phr. A familiar situation where one feels safe
Explanation
a brave step is a noun phrase, where brave is an adjective modifying the noun step, meaning "a courageous step".
forward is an adverb modifying step, meaning "ahead".
The whole phrase serves as the object, answering the "what" of took (verb) — she took a brave step forward.
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brave
US/brev/
UK/breɪv/
adj.Brave
v.t.To bravely face
A2 Elementary
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80
2026 Berkeley Engineering PhD Commencement Speech
0
Dante Lu posted on 2026/06/01Get inspired by Megan Dung's incredible journey as she accepts her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Berkeley! You'll hear about her path from international business to robotics, overcoming doubts, and the profound responsibility that comes with engineering.
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