college

[ kol-ij ]
See synonyms for college on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an institution of higher learning, especially one providing a general or liberal arts education rather than technical or professional training.: Compare university.

  2. a constituent unit of a university, furnishing courses of instruction in the liberal arts and sciences, usually leading to a bachelor's degree.

  1. an institution for vocational, technical, or professional instruction, as in medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, or music, often a part of a university.

  2. an endowed, self-governing association of scholars incorporated within a university, as at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England.

  3. a similar corporation outside a university.

  4. the building or buildings occupied by an institution of higher education.

  5. the administrators, faculty, and students of a college.

  6. (in Britain and Canada) a private secondary school.

  7. an organized association of persons having certain powers and rights, and performing certain duties or engaged in a particular pursuit: The Electoral College formally selects the president.

  8. a company; assemblage.

  9. Also called collegium. a body of clergy living together on a foundation for religious service or similar activity.

  10. British Slang. a prison.

Origin of college

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin collēgium, from col- col-1 + lēg-, variant stem of legere “to choose, gather, read” + -ium -ium; cf. colleague

Other words from college

  • post·col·lege, noun, adjective
  • pre·col·lege, noun, adjective
  • subcollege, noun

Words Nearby college

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use college in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for college

college

/ (ˈkɒlɪdʒ) /


noun
  1. an institution of higher education; part of a university

  2. a school or an institution providing specialized courses or teaching: a college of music

  1. the building or buildings in which a college is housed

  2. the staff and students of a college

  3. an organized body of persons with specific rights and duties: an electoral college See also Sacred College

  4. a body of clerics living in community and supported by endowment

  5. mainly British an obsolete slang word for prison

Origin of college

1
C14: from Latin collēgium company, society, band of associates, from collēga; see colleague

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