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:
He cycled to training and lived among students who had no idea their quiet classmate would soon be starting in La Liga.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
A classmate had told her about a website where she could create a character to chat with if she ever felt lonely or bored.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Instead, she stands up, pops her dislocated shoulder back into its socket and grimly declares to the shocked classmate filming her, “This is Claire Bennet, and that was attempt No. 6.”
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
In high school, Becerra convinced a classmate to hand over their unused application to Stanford University rather than throw it away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Kind of a nerd,” is how one classmate described him.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Once finding work, graduates with more AI-exposed degrees earned 5% lower wages compared to classmates with less AI-exposed majors, the findings showed.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
And slowly, as they spoke to their old classmates, other recollections emerged - the friends sharing their findings with each other on WhatsApp.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
About one-third of students on average in developed countries reported that noise and disorder disrupted lessons, with 29% saying classmates don’t listen to teachers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Fourth-grader Landon Gonzalez and one of his classmates ran the 5K at the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Michael was already scanning the environment for former classmates.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
