alma mater

American  

[ahl-muh mah-ter, al-, al-muh may-ter] / ˈɑl mə ˈmɑ tər, ˈæl-, ˈæl mə ˈmeɪ tər /

noun

• alma maters
  plural

1. a school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually, from which one has graduated.

2. the official anthem of a school, college, or university.

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alma mater British  

/ ˈælmə ˈmɑːtə, -ˈmeɪtə /

noun

1. (often capitals) one's school, college, or university

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alma mater Cultural  

1. The school or university from which one graduated. The term also refers to a school's official song: “The reunion began with everyone singing the alma mater.” From Latin, meaning “nurturing mother.”

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alma mater Idioms  

1. Also, Alma Mater. The school or college one attended and, usually, graduated from, as in During football season I always check to see how my alma mater is doing. This expression sometimes refers to the institution's official song, as in I never did learn the words to my college's alma mater. The term is Latin for “kind mother.” [c. 1800]

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Usage

What does alma mater mean? An alma mater is the school, college, or university that someone has graduated from. It’s most commonly used to refer to a college or university, but it can also refer to a high school. The term is associated with pride in one’s school. It’s often used by those who network and keep in touch with other graduates and continue to identify as a graduate of the school after they have left. The term alma mater can also refer to the official song of a school, college, or university. Example: Since Jade graduated from Temple University, she has not stopped talking about her alma mater.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alma maters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of alma mater

< Latin: nourishing (i.e., dear) mother

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alma mater

A month later, Hartman arranged for a $10,000 gift to Clyburn’s alma mater, South Carolina State University, according to an email seen by ProPublica.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

On Friday, their son, Beong-Soo Kim, will stand before a crowd of thousands in Alumni Park and be formally installed as the 13th president of their alma mater.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Chief political correspondent Josh Dawsey went back to his alma mater, the University of South Carolina, where the campus is booming but many students he spoke with are uneasy about their own economic futures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

In fact, as his unofficial biographer Michael Crick later discovered, Archer's alma mater in the States was, in fact, a bodybuilding club.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

She resigned from Langley and returned to her alma mater, Arkansas AM&N, for a masters degree in mathematics.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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