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academia

American  
[ak-uh-dee-mee-uh, -deem-yuh, -dem-ee-uh, -dem-yuh] / ˌæk əˈdi mi ə, -ˈdim jə, -ˈdɛm i ə, -ˈdɛm jə /

noun

  1. the milieu or interests of a university, college, or academy; academe.


academia British  
/ ˌækəˈdiːmɪə /

noun

  1. the academic world

"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 academia

First recorded in 1945–50; from New Latin, Latin; see academy

Explanation

The world of colleges and universities is academia. Academia is the academic world. If you like school, then you might enjoy academia, which is also known as academe. People in academia include students — college and university students, specifically. Then there are the professors, who teach the students. That's not all professors do; they also research various subjects. Producing research is one of the major goals of academia. If you like thinking and learning and studying, academia could be the place for you.

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Vocabulary lists containing academia

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.

Filmed over the course of five years, the feature follows four young students at Academia de Bachata, a music conservatory in the beachside resort town of Cabarete.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

"That's dangerous," said Chen Been-lon, a research fellow and professor in the Institute of Economics at Academia Sinica.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

“I don’t think that is making a mountain out of a molehill. The line is now very unclear,” says Prof Yu Jie, a legal scholar at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica.

From BBC • Aug. 15, 2024

“Local religions have re-emerged strongly since the ’80s and ’90s,” said Ting Jen-chieh, who studies religions at Academia Sinica, a top research institute in Taiwan.

From New York Times • May 3, 2024

Academia was just beginning to sense the United States government’s potential heft as a patron of scientific research.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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