doctorate
Americannoun
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any of several academic degrees of the highest rank, as the Ph.D. or Ed.D., awarded by universities and some colleges for completing advanced work in graduate school or a professional school.
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an honorary degree conferring the title of doctor upon the recipient, as with the LL.D. degree.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of doctorate
First recorded in 1670–80; from Medieval Latin doctōrātus; see doctor, -ate 3
Explanation
A doctorate is an advanced university degree. Another name for a doctorate is a PhD. If you stick in school long enough, you just might end up with a doctorate (and a whole lot of debt). Many years of specialized study can result in a doctorate, which qualifies the graduate to teach at a college or university. To be awarded a doctorate, a student has to complete a dissertation or thesis, a huge research project that focuses on her area of study. Someone who has a doctorate is known as a "Doctor of Philosophy," and the word itself comes from the Medieval Latin root doctoratus, or "made a doctor."
Vocabulary lists containing doctorate
The Chosen
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Silent to the Bone
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We Are Okay
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2002, he left China to pursue a doctorate at Fuller Theological Seminary in California.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer, who has a doctorate in physics from UC Irvine, holds more than 100 U.S. and international patents, according to the company.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
The following year, Ekubo received an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from the Institut Supérieur de Communication et de Gestion in Benin.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Two months later, he recruited Steve Hoyt, another Cal Poly grad with a doctorate in environmental science, who has built a business on the Central Coast testing soil samples.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
Like those association tests given by my mother who is getting her doctorate in psychology.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
