TOEFL Vocabulary Exercises

Developing good TOEFL vocabulary skills can be one of the most challenging parts of studying for the exam, but it's also one of the most important. Many TOEFL questions either ask you the definition of a word outright or require you to have knowledge of certain words in order to answer a question correctly. With so many words in the English language, which are the ones you need to know?

This site focuses on important words, exercises and tips to improve vocabulary for TOEFL.

We’ve done the hard work for you and determined the 11 most useful TOEFL categories (600 Words) to know. They’re all listed below.

S.No. Topic Words
1 Children and the family adolescence, adolescent, adopt, authoritarian, birth rate, bring up, dependent, divorced, extended family, family life, formative years, foster, foster child, foster family, freedom, infancy, infant, juvenile, juvenile delinquency, lenient, minor (noun), nuclear family, nurture, over-protective, protective, raise, rebellious, relationship, relatives, responsible, separated, siblings, single parent, single-parent family, strict, supervision, running wild, teenager, upbringing, well-adjusted
2 Education acquire, class, course, day release, degree, discipline, doctorate, elementary (education), elementary school, enroll, exam, experience, faculty, fail, fees, grade, grades, grade school, graduate (noun), graduate (verb), graduate school, grant, higher degree, higher education, high school, junior high school, kindergarten, learn, learning resources center, lecture, lecturer, lesson, literacy, mature (student), middle school, night class, numeracy, on line course, opportunity, pass, physical education, private school, professor, prospectus, public school, qualifications, quarter, resit (an exam), resources, secondary (education), semester, seminar, SAT® (Scholastic Aptitude Test), sit / take (an exam), skills, study, subject, syllabus, topic, tutor, tutorial, undergraduate
3 Food and diet allergy, allergic, anorexia, balanced diet, bulimia, calcium, calories, carbohydrates, cholesterol, consume, consumption, diabetes, diet (noun + verb), eating disorder, exercise, fast food, fat, fat farm, fiber, food groups, food intolerance, food poisoning, free range, fresh, genetically modified (GM), harvest, health food, heart disease, junk food, listeria, malnutrition, malnourished, minerals, monounsaturated, nutrition, nutritious, obesity, organic, overweight, processed, protein, salmonella, saturated, scarce, scarcity, shortages, underweight, vegan, veganism, vegetarian, vegetarianism, vitamins
4 The media airtime, audience, broadcast, broadsheet, censor, censorship, channel, check book journalism, circulation, current affairs, coverage, documentary, download, dumbing down, editor, entertainment, exploit, feature, freedom of the press, gutter press, honest, information, informed, Internet, invasion of privacy, journalism, journalist, libel, libelous, log on, mass media, media circus, media event, media tycoon, news, on line, paparazzi, the press, program, read between the lines, readership, reality TV, reporter, restriction, slander, slanderous, tabloid, tabloid TV, unscrupulous, Web site
5 Money and finance balance, bank, bankrupt, bargain, bill, borrow, broke, cash, check, cost of living, credit card, credit, debt, debit, deposit, discount, distribution of wealth, dividends, economical, economize, exorbitant, expenditure, extravagant, frugal, income, income tax, inflation, inherit, insolvent, interest, in the black, in the red, invest, investment, invoice, lend, loan, loss, market, mortgage, on credit, overcharged, overdraft, overpriced, pension, priceless, profit, receipt, reduction, refund, salary, save, savings and loan association, shares, statement, stocks, tax / rent (etc.) rebate, undercharged, unemployment / housing / child (etc.) welfare, wage, wealthy, welfare, withdraw, worthless
6 Nature and the environment acid rain, activists, animal rights, battery farming, biodegradable packaging, biodiversity, biofuels, breeding, (in) captivity, CFC gases, climatic change, conservation, conserve, conservation program, contaminated, deforestation, degradation, desertification, eco-friendly, ecological, ecology, ecosystem, emissions, endangered species, environmentalists, environmentally friendly, erosion, extinct, fossil fuels, fumes, genetically modified, green belt, global warming, greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, intensive farming, natural behavior, natural resources, organic, organic farming, ozone-friendly, ozone layer, poaching, pollute, (air) pollution, rare breeds, rainforest, recycle, recycling, renewable / sustainable energy, research, solar power, tidal energy, toxic waste, unleaded gas, wildlife management
7 On the road accelerate, accident, black spot, accident risk, auto theft, back out, brake, congestion, crosswalk, cut in (in a vehicle), cycle lane, destination, dominate, drink-driving, driver, driver’s license, driving test, expressway, fatalities , a fine, freeway, gas, highway, highway patrol, injuries, intersection, interstate, joyriding, mile, mobility, overtake, park and ride, pedestrian, pedestrian mall, pollution, public transport, pull in, pull over, road rage, road work, rush hour, safety island, sidewalk, to speed, speed limit, subsidized (e.g., public transport), to tailgate, traffic light / signal, traffic calming, traffic circle / rotary, traffic-free zone, traffic jam, traffic school, transport strategy, turnpike
8 Science and technology analyze, bioclimatology, biology, breakthrough, cellphone, chemistry, computers, control, cryogenics, cybernetics, development, digital, discover, discovery, e-mail, experiment, genetic engineering, genetic fingerprinting, genetic modification, geneticist, information technology (IT), innovation, Internet, invent, invention, life expectancy, microchip, modified, molecular biology, nuclear engineering, physics, research, safeguard, scientist, technocrat, technologist, technophile, technophobe
9 Town and country agriculture, amenities, apartment block, arable land, atmosphere, to breed crime, building sites, Central Business District (CBD), commute, commuter, commuter belt, congestion, construction, cost of living, crops, crowded, cultivation, cultural events, depopulation, development, drug abuse, employment, environment, fields, green belt, industry, infrastructure, housing project, inner city, lively, mall / shopping mall, melting pot, metropolis, migration, nature, nightlife, outskirts, peaceful, peak period, pedestrian precinct, pollution, population, population explosion, poverty, productive land, property prices, prospects, resident, residential area, rural, rush hour, slum, street crime, stressful, suburbs, unemployment, urban, urban lifestyle, urban sprawl
10 Travel acclimatize, alien, all-inclusive, business class, check in (to a hotel or for a flight), check out (of a hotel), coach class, consulate, cruise, culture shock, customs, deport, disembark, displaced, economic migrants, ecotourism, embark, embassy, emigrate, emigration, excursion, expatriate, first class, flight, gate, green card, illegal alien, immigrant, immigration, independent traveler, internally displaced, journey, long-haul, luggage, mass tourism, migrant, migrate, package tour, package tourist, passport, persona non grata, refugee, repatriate, safari, short-haul, tour operator, trafficking, travel agency, travel agent, trip, UNHCR, visa, voyage, work permit
11 Work adverse working conditions, applicant, application form, be made redundant, blue-collar worker, boss, candidate, commission, demanding, dismiss, dismissal, downsize, employee, employer, fire, fixed income, flexible working hours, freelance, full time, hire, homeworker, incentives, incentive scheme, income, increment, interview, interviewee, interviewer, job satisfaction, job security, manager, manual worker, manufacturing industry, (on) leave, overtime, part-time, pension, pension contributions, perks, profession, promotion, raise, recruitment drive, repetitive strain injury (RSI), resign, retire, rewards and benefits, salary, self-employed, semi-skilled, service industry, sick building syndrome, sickness benefit, skilled, a steady job, stress, supervisor, unemployed, unemployment, union, unskilled, unsociable hours, wage, (on) welfare, white-collar worker, workaholic