classmate
Americannoun
-
classmates
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of classmate
Explanation
Your classmate is someone who goes to school with you. It's hard to believe when you first start college that some of your classmates will become your very best friends. Your school friends are your classmates, and so are the fellow students you barely know at all. In a small class, you get to know most of your classmates fairly well, while in a large lecture even your teacher might not know all your classmates' names. The word dates from the 18th century, a combination of class, from the Latin classis, "class or division," and mate, "fellow or comrade."
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.
See Examples For:
Officials said earlier he faced academic-related stress and a classmate said he was bullied.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
It also introduced US actress Zendaya as MJ, his awkward but intellectual classmate.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The classmate had been contacted several years earlier by someone claiming to be a talent agent, and she recognized in “The Tell” details she had shared with the alleged agent.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
They usually don’t teach a class on what to do when a classmate can’t get a word out, or teach the teacher to wait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
My neighbor and friend Terri Johnson had gotten in, and so had my classmate Chiaka, whom I’d known and been in friendly competition with since kindergarten, as well as one or two boys.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Their white shirts filled up with messages scribbled by classmates and well-wishers – a colourful record of a shared journey through education.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Ben Chen, 63, fondly recalls an encounter with mainland-Chinese classmates in Alaska in the late 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
He still has friends in the area, including high school classmates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
The incident occurred in September 2025, when students living in Ganędagǫ Hall reported seeing two classmates processing a black bear in the residence hall’s communal kitchen.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
“He said that you were having trouble speaking in front of your classmates for an assignment,” SJ told her.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
