Berkeley

American  

[burk-lee, bahrk-lee] / ˈbɜrk li, ˈbɑrk li /

noun

1. Busby William Berkeley Enos, 1895–1976, U.S. choreographer and musical-film director.

2. George, 1685?–1753, Irish bishop and philosopher.

3. Sir William, 1610–77, British colonial governor of Virginia 1642–76.

4. a city in western California, on San Francisco Bay.

5. a city in eastern Missouri, near St. Louis.

6. Also Barclay a first name.

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Berkeley ¹ British  

/ ˈbɑːklɪ /

noun

1. Busby . real name William Berkeley Enos . 1895–1976, US dance director, noted esp for his elaborate choreography in film musicals

2. George . 1685–1753, Irish philosopher and Anglican bishop, whose system of subjective idealism was expounded in his works A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713). He also wrote Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709)

3. Sir Lennox ( Randal Francis ). 1903–89, British composer; his works include four symphonies, four operas, and the Serenade for Strings (1939)

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Berkeley ² British  

/ ˈbɜːklɪ /

noun

1. a city in W California, on San Francisco Bay: seat of the University of California. Pop: 102 049 (2003 est)

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Berkeley Cultural  

1. City in California on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.

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Berkeley is the location of a distinguished branch of the University of California. The University of California at Berkeley has been a center for student activism and social-change movements, particularly in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Example Sentences

The Berkeley, Calif.—based company in January delayed the release of its next-generation Cepheus-1-108Q system, saying it needed to make more progress on the technical front.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

County leave child-care centers annually, according to a 2025 study from the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care Employment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

But Barry Eichengreen, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, points to geopolitical and security factors that have preserved the dollar’s status.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Sixty-three percent of likely voters said the city is not on the right track, according to a poll released last week by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

I started college at nearby UC Berkeley, where my life was a mixture of antiwar rallies and marches and beginning French and rhetoric classes.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge