university

American  

[yoo-nuh-vur-si-tee] / ˌyu nəˈvɜr sɪ ti /

noun

plural

universities

1. an institution of learning of the highest level, having a college of liberal arts and a program of graduate studies together with several professional schools, as of theology, law, medicine, and engineering, and authorized to confer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Continental European universities usually have only graduate or professional schools.

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university British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsɪtɪ /

noun

1. an institution of higher education having authority to award bachelors' and higher degrees, usually having research facilities

2. the buildings, members, staff, or campus of a university

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Other Word Forms

• antiuniversity adjective
• counteruniversity noun
• interuniversity adjective
• nonuniversity noun
• preuniversity adjective
• prouniversity adjective
• universitarian noun

Etymology

Origin of university

1250–1300; Middle English universite < Old French < Medieval Latin ūniversitās, Late Latin: guild, corporation, Latin: totality, equivalent to ūnivers ( us ) ( universe ) + -itās -ity

Compare meaning

How does university compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• State College vs. university

Example Sentences

The court heard he briefly attended university and had worked as a waiter before becoming homeless and moving to London.

From BBC

A university student said he felt like a "foreigner" after losing his ability to speak Welsh following a car crash.

From BBC

Instead, millions of university graduates are entering the bleakest job market in years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Employees of universities and other nonprofits are generally exempt from the 85,000 cap.

From The Wall Street Journal

Our universities educated Americans who directed the Manhattan Project, created a vaccine for polio and invented personal computing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• academy
• institution
• school