TOEFL physics vocabulary
140 words in this theme, levelled so you can tell what is worth your time at your band.
TOEFL physics vocabulary covers the processes an academic talk describes — *absorb*, *condense*, *dissolve*, *audible*. Most of it is process language rather than formulae: what happens to a substance or a wave, in words a non-specialist is expected to follow.
Why this theme earns your time
Physics lectures are dense with cause-and-effect verbs, and the questions usually turn on the sequence rather than the physics. Knowing that *condense* and *dissolve* describe different transitions is what lets you track a process you have never studied.
What the words look like
Every entry carries its part of speech, pronunciation, CEFR level, the collocations it actually appears in, and a sentence using it. A sample from the bank:
| Word | CEFR | Meaning | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| absorbv. /əbˈzɔːrb/ | B1 | to take in energy, liquid, or another substanceabsorb heat · absorb energy | Dark surfaces absorb more sunlight than light ones, so they heat up much faster. |
| audibleadj. /ˈɔːdəbl/ | C1 | loud enough to be heardclearly audible · barely audible | Her voice was barely audible at the back row. |
| condensev. /kənˈdens/ | C1 | to make shorter; to change from gas to liquidcondense into · condensed milk | Condense the three chapters into one summary page. |
| dissolvev. /dɪˈzɑːlv/ | B2 | to mix into liquid; to end an organizationdissolve in water · dissolve parliament | Salt dissolves faster in warm water. |
| floatv. /floʊt/ | B1 | to rest on the surface of a liquid or in airfloat on water · float an idea | Ice floats because it is less dense than water. |
| gravityn. /ˈɡrævəti/ | B1 | the natural force that pulls objects toward each other, especially toward the Earththe force of gravity · defy gravity | Without gravity, the moon would fly off into space instead of circling the Earth. |
| lightn./adj./v. /laɪt/ | B1 | brightness; not heavy; to set burningin the light of · light rain | The room gets good light until three. |
| opticadj. /ˈɑːptɪk/ | C2 | relating to the eye or to lightoptic nerve · fiber optic cable | The optic nerve carries signals to the brain. |
| quantumn. /ˈkwɑːntəm/ | C1 | the smallest possible amount of energy in physics; used to describe physics at very small scalesquantum mechanics · a quantum of energy | Quantum theory describes how particles behave in ways that seem strange in everyday life. |
| ripplen./v. /ˈrɪpl/ | C1 | a small wave; to spread outwarda ripple effect · ripple across | A stone sends ripples across the still pond. |
| spectrumn. /ˈspektrəm/ | B2 | the full range of colors or waves that light or other energy can be separated intothe electromagnetic spectrum · the visible spectrum | By studying a star's spectrum, astronomers can determine which elements it contains. |
| transparentadj. /trænsˈpærənt/ | B2 | able to be seen through; open and honesttransparent glass · a transparent process | The membrane is thin and almost transparent. |
What to learn at your level
Most of this theme sits at CEFR B2 (34% of its words). At band 4 the B1 and B2 entries are the ones that move your score; grinding C1 vocabulary before the B2 layer is solid is the most common way to spend weeks and gain nothing.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | 2 | 1% |
| B1 | 16 | 11% |
| B2 | 48 | 34% |
| C1 | 43 | 31% |
| C2 | 31 | 22% |
Recognising a word is not knowing it
Complete the Words asks you to *produce* a word from context with only its opening letters shown, and the writing tasks ask you to produce it from nothing. That is why the PrepScore drill makes you write the word rather than flip a card, and counts it mastered only after two correct productions in a row. See how the vocabulary drill works.
Drill this theme free
Twenty words a day at no cost, tested by production rather than recognition.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need physics knowledge for the TOEFL?
No. Lectures explain what they need. What they do not explain is the vocabulary carrying the explanation.
What kind of physics words appear?
Process and property words — absorb, emit, condense, audible, dense — rather than equations or named laws.
Keep reading
By PrepScore · Last reviewed · Editorial standards