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Synonyms

higher education

American  

noun

  1. education beyond high school, specifically that provided by colleges and graduate schools, and professional schools.

higher education British  

noun

  1. education and training at colleges, universities, polytechnics, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of higher education

First recorded in 1865–70

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.

Welsh Liberal Democrats' leader Jane Dodds said: "Higher education is a public good that benefits the whole economy, and the funding system should reflect that, supporting aspiration, not holding it back."

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

Higher education doesn’t separate the groups, and labor union members don’t skew toward either group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Higher education doesn’t separate the groups, and labor union members don’t skew toward either group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Higher education institutions maintain that their tuition practices abide by the law.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2025

I think—as I thought in 1967—that the black civil rights leaders were correct: Higher education was not, nor is it yet, accessible to many black Americans.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

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.