bachelor

American  

[bach-ler, bach-uh-ler] / ˈbætʃ lər, ˈbætʃ ə lər /

noun

1. an unmarried man.

2. a person who has been awarded a bachelor's degree.

3. a fur seal, especially a young male, kept from the breeding grounds by the older males.

4. Also called bachelor-at-arms.  a young knight who followed the banner of another.

5. Also called household knight.  a landless knight.

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bachelor British  

/ ˈbætʃlə, ˈbætʃələ /

noun

1. 1. an unmarried man

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bachelor flat

2. 1. a person who holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Science, etc

   2. the degree itself

3. Also called: bachelor-at-arms.  (in the Middle Ages) a young knight serving a great noble

4. a young male seal, esp a fur seal, that has not yet mated

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Usage

Gender-neutral form: single person

Other Word Forms

• bachelorhood noun
• bachelorlike adjective
• bachelorly adjective
• nonbachelor noun
• prebachelor adjective

Etymology

Origin of bachelor

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bacheler “squire, young knight,” from Old French; origin uncertain; probably from assumed Vulgar Latin baccalār(is) “tenant farmer, farm hand”; akin to Late Latin baccalāria “piece of land,” originallly plural of assumed baccalārium “dairy farm,” equivalent to assumed baccālis “pertaining to cows” (from bacca, variant of Latin vacca “cow” + -ālis + -ārium); see origin at -al ¹, -arium ( def. ) )

Explanation

There are two criteria needed in order to be a bachelor: one is that you can’t be married, and the other is that you have to be a man. Any people outside of these criteria are some other word. The origins of bachelor are unclear, but some similar Latin words are baccalāris (“farm hand”), baccalārium (“dairy farm”), and bacca (“cow”). Maybe some bachelors spent a lot of time milking cows before getting married in the olden days. The phrase “eligible bachelor” means a guy who would make a great husband, and the phrase “confirmed bachelor” describes a man who is having so much fun being single that he’ll probably never marry. Either way, pronounce it like this: BATCH-uh-lur.

Example Sentences

Upon completion of their bachelor of fine arts degree in May 2025, they joined full-time.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

Affleck has long since moved on from the home, reportedly purchasing a $20.5 million Pacific Palisades bachelor pad in July 2024.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026

He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1992.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Pratt’s stuffed cougar, representing the late P-22 whose bachelor life trapped in Griffith Park helped inspire the project, sat placidly amid workers moving native plants onto the site.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

A bachelor, a studio, those were the names for that kind of apartment.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood