graduate

[graj-oo-it, -eyt, graj-oo-eyt]

noun

1. a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study, as in a university, college, or school.

2. a student who holds the bachelor's or the first professional degree and is studying for an advanced degree.

3. a graduated cylinder, used for measuring.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or involved in academic study beyond the first or bachelor's degree.

   graduate courses in business; a graduate student.

2. having an academic degree or diploma.

   a graduate engineer.

verb (used without object)

graduated, graduating 

1. to receive a degree or diploma on completing a course of study (often followed byfrom ).

   She graduated from college in 1985.

2. to pass by degrees; change gradually.

verb (used with object)

graduated, graduating 

1. to confer a degree upon, or to grant a diploma to, at the close of a course of study, as in a university, college, or school.

   Cornell graduated eighty students with honors.

2. Informal.,  to receive a degree or diploma from.

   She graduated college in 1950.

3. to arrange in grades or gradations; establish gradation in.

4. to divide into or mark with degrees or other divisions, as the scale of a thermometer.

graduate

noun

1. 1. a person who has been awarded a first degree from a university or college

   2. ( as modifier )

      a graduate profession

2. a student who has completed a course of studies at a high school and received a diploma

3. a container, such as a flask, marked to indicate its capacity

verb

1. to receive or cause to receive a degree or diploma

2. (tr) to confer a degree, diploma, etc upon

3. (tr) to mark (a thermometer, flask, etc) with units of measurement; calibrate

4. (tr) to arrange or sort into groups according to type, quality, etc

5. to change by degrees (from something to something else)

Usage

In the sense “to receive a degree or diploma” graduate followed by from is the most common construction today: Her daughter graduated from Yale in 1981. The passive form was graduated from, formerly insisted upon as the only correct pattern, has decreased in use and occurs infrequently today: My husband was graduated from West Point last year. Even though it is condemned by some as nonstandard, the use of graduate as a transitive verb meaning “to receive a degree or diploma from” is increasing in frequency in both speech and writing: The twins graduated high school in 1974.

Other Word Forms

• graduator noun
• nongraduate noun
• supergraduate noun
• ungraduating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of graduate¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin graduātus (past participle of graduāre ), equivalent to grad ( us ) grade, step + -u- thematic vowel + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of graduate¹

C15: from Medieval Latin graduārī to take a degree, from Latin gradus a step

Example Sentences

But yeah — when I graduated high school, I wasn’t thinking about that stuff.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Last week, UNN reportedly told the publication that it had no records confirming that the minister had graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985, as he had claimed.

Read more on BBC

Three days after graduating, Shams moved to Los Angeles to open a flagship store on Melrose.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

California nurses’ organizations agree, saying that community colleges and CSU campuses in particular offer a pipeline to nursing jobs for lower-income, first-generation students of color and that these graduates provide culturally sensitive care.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She said her mental health had plummeted after graduating and, after seeking advice from medical professionals, friends and family, she went for an assessment.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• alum 
• alumna 
• alumnus 
• doctor 
• grad 
• recipient