TOEFL Vocabulary: Campus places and movement 40 easy-tier words, each with a short plain-English definition, followed by a quick quiz to check what stuck.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026
Buildings, rooms and the words for getting between them: entrance and exit, upstairs and downstairs, opposite and beside. These are the words that let you follow directions, which is exactly what a campus announcement or a short conversation about where something has moved asks you to do.
Most useful for: Read in Daily Life · Listen to a Conversation · Listen to an Announcement · Listen and Repeat .
Campus places and movement is one of the easy themes in our
TOEFL vocabulary list , where you can also find how the tiers work.
The 40 words Campus places and movement — Easy tier # Word Meaning Tier 1 campus the grounds and buildings of a school Easy 2 building a structure with rooms for people Easy 3 entrance the place where people go in Easy 4 exit the place where people go out Easy 5 hallway an indoor passage between rooms Easy 6 stairs steps connecting different floors Easy 7 elevator a machine carrying people between floors Easy 8 floor one level of a building Easy 9 room an enclosed space inside a building Easy 10 desk a table used for work or study Easy 11 counter a surface where staff serve visitors Easy 12 office a room used for administrative work Easy 13 library a place to borrow or use books Easy 14 laboratory a room equipped for experiments Easy 15 classroom a room where a class meets Easy 16 studio a room for creative or practical work Easy 17 auditorium a large room for talks or performances Easy 18 cafeteria a place where meals are served Easy 19 dormitory a building where students live Easy 20 parking space set aside for vehicles Easy 21 shuttle a vehicle traveling a regular short route Easy 22 route the path used to reach a place Easy 23 path a way for walking or traveling Easy 24 corner the point where two sides meet Easy 25 direction the way toward a destination Easy 26 distance the amount of space between places Easy 27 nearby not far away Easy 28 opposite across from or facing something Easy 29 beside next to something Easy 30 behind at the back of something Easy 31 ahead farther forward Easy 32 upstairs on a higher floor Easy 33 downstairs on a lower floor Easy 34 cross to move from one side to another Easy 35 enter to go into a place Easy 36 leave to go away from a place Easy 37 arrive to reach a place Easy 38 depart to go away from a starting place Easy 39 follow to move along a route or instruction Easy 40 return to come or go back Easy
Self-check: match the meaning Cover the table above. Here are 8 of the 40 campus places and movement words, starting with campus : choose the word each definition describes.
the grounds and buildings of a school campus laboratory opposite enter Show answer A. campus
steps connecting different floors dormitory stairs downstairs return Show answer B. stairs
a surface where staff serve visitors corner depart counter hallway Show answer C. counter
a room for creative or practical work beside entrance desk studio Show answer D. studio
a vehicle traveling a regular short route shuttle cross floor classroom Show answer A. shuttle
the amount of space between places follow distance library parking Show answer B. distance
farther forward exit cafeteria ahead direction Show answer C. ahead
to go away from a place room path behind leave Show answer D. leave
Using campus places and movement words on the test In Listen to an Announcement, exit and counter tend to mark the key change or instruction, so note them when you hear them. In Listen to a Conversation, listen for cafeteria and direction as signals of what each speaker needs or decides. In Read in Daily Life, words like upstairs and follow tell you what a notice or email wants you to do, so read them as clues to the writer's purpose. In Listen and Repeat, practice saying stairs and library inside a full sentence so the stress and endings stay intact. Other easy themes
Previous ← Quantitative and technology language Next Schedule and campus services → Frequently Asked Questions How many words are in the campus places and movement list? + 40, from campus to return, all in the easy tier of our TOEFL list. The self-check quiz on this page tests 8 of them, beginning with campus.
Where do campus places and movement words appear on the TOEFL? + Language like this is most useful in Listen to an Announcement, Listen to a Conversation, Read in Daily Life and Listen and Repeat. These are everyday words worth being able to use, not just recognize.
Which campus places and movement words should I learn first? + Start with stairs (steps connecting different floors); studio (a room for creative or practical work); distance (the amount of space between places). In Listen to an Announcement, exit and counter tend to mark the key change or instruction, so note them when you hear them.