college

American  

[kol-ij] / ˈkɒl ɪdʒ /

noun

• colleges
  plural

1. an institution of higher learning, especially one providing a general or liberal arts education rather than technical or professional training.

2. a constituent unit of a university, furnishing courses of instruction in the liberal arts and sciences, usually leading to a bachelor's degree.

3. an institution for vocational, technical, or professional instruction, as in medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, or music, often a part of a university.

4. an endowed, self-governing association of scholars incorporated within a university, as at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England.

5. a similar corporation outside a university.

6. the building or buildings occupied by an institution of higher education.

7. the administrators, faculty, and students of a college.

8. (in Britain and Canada) a private secondary school.

9. an organized association of persons having certain powers and rights, and performing certain duties or engaged in a particular pursuit.

   The Electoral College formally selects the president.

10. a company; assemblage.

11. Also called collegium. a body of clergy living together on a foundation for religious service or similar activity.

12. British Slang. a prison.

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college British  

/ ˈkɒlɪdʒ /

noun

1. an institution of higher education; part of a university

2. a school or an institution providing specialized courses or teaching

   a college of music

3. the building or buildings in which a college is housed

4. the staff and students of a college

5. an organized body of persons with specific rights and duties See also Sacred College

   an electoral college

6. a body of clerics living in community and supported by endowment

7. an obsolete slang word for prison

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• postcollege
  noun
• precollege
  noun
• subcollege
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• colleges
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of college

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin collēgium, from col- col- ¹ + lēg-, variant stem of legere “to choose, gather, read” + -ium -ium; cf. colleague

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Explanation

In the US, people pursuing education after high school go to college––spending either two or four years earning an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree. Many colleges are housed within universities. College derives from the Latin collegium 'partnership, association.' While a university offers many programs leading to graduate degrees beyond a bachelor's degree, a college is undergraduate only. So if you want to pursue becoming a lawyer, a doctor, or a college professor, chances are college is just a weigh station on your route to graduate school.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

college colleges

College students will be college students, but they weren’t the only ones I heard lamenting that Pappas might not have what it takes.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

He currently attends a further education college with support one day a week but his mother accompanies him to local youth clubs a few nights a week.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

After community college in Stockton, Huerta became a teacher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

She has since graduated from Westish and is engaged to the college baseball team’s former catcher, now its coach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t we say that since you and I would be headed for college in only two years, Dad would need someone?”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

“By Season 2, Debbie, a Howard University alum, said, ‘we are going to be specific to historically black colleges and universities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The law “really opened up community colleges to people who previously couldn’t access education,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

Schools and colleges in England will be required to recognise antisemitism as a distinct category of harm and take explicit action against it.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

If you weren’t aware of SpaceX’s role, you might wonder if colleges and universities had become better at devising market-beating strategies.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

She wants Roli to apply to the best colleges and for every scholarship.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

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