collegiate

American  

[kuh-lee-jit, -jee-it] / kəˈli dʒɪt, -dʒi ɪt /

adjective

1. of or relating to a college.

   collegiate life.

2. of, characteristic of, or intended for college students.

   collegiate clothes; a collegiate dictionary.

3. of the nature of or constituted as a college.

---

noun

1. (in Canada) collegiate institute.

collegiate British  

/ kəˈliːdʒɪɪt /

adjective

1. Also: collegial.  of or relating to a college or college students

2. (of a university) composed of various colleges of equal standing

---

noun

1. short for collegiate institute

Other Word Forms

• collegiately adverb
• collegiateness noun
• postcollegiate adjective
• precollegiate adjective
• procollegiate adjective
• pseudocollegiate adjective
• quasi-collegiate adjective
• subcollegiate adjective
• uncollegiate adjective

Etymology

Origin of collegiate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word collēgiātus. See college, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Suddenly, talented collegiate players with long shot NBA dreams had powerful financial incentives to stay in school.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Gervase started his collegiate career at Pfeiffer University, a Division III school in Misenheimer, N.C.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

The surge in academic holdbacks shows how collegiate compensation is remaking youth sports in its quasi-professional image.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

"He's not very collegiate, which was one reason why he left Reform UK," he said.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

In the 1920s and 1930s, collegiate crew was wildly popular, often ranking right up there with baseball and collegiate football in the amount of press it received and the crowds it drew.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• intellectual
• scholarly
• scholastic