Meaning & use
guest lectures
Last updated
“guest lectures” is a form of “guest lecture”.
Meaning
nouncountable
Talks given by visiting speakers at a school or university, not by the regular teacher.
Grammar: Countable noun; use 'a guest lecture' for one, 'guest lectures' for several.
Patterns
- give a guest lecture
- attend guest lectures
- guest lectures on something
The professor invited several experts to give guest lectures this term.
Students are encouraged to attend guest lectures on current research.
She gave a guest lecture on climate change at the university.
Word forms
| singular | guest lecture |
|---|
Common combinations
- give a guest lecture
- He will give a guest lecture next week.
- attend guest lectures
- All graduate students must attend guest lectures.
- guest lecture series
- The department runs a guest lecture series every spring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guest talk
- Similar, but 'guest talk' is less formal and can be used outside universities.
- visiting lecture
- Less common; 'guest lecture' is the standard term in academic settings.
Word family
Commonly confused: guest lectures or guest speaker?
guest lectures vs guest speaker
A guest speaker is the person; a guest lecture is the talk they give.
Practice
The university invited a famous scientist to ______ a guest lecture on renewable energy.
Choose one answer.
The correct verb is 'give a guest lecture'. 'Make' and 'do' do not collocate with 'lecture' in this sense, and 'say' is used for words, not for formal talks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “guest lectures”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.