community college

American  

noun

community colleges plural

1. a nonresidential junior college established to serve a specific community and typically supported in part by local government funds.

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community college British  

noun

1. another term for village college

2. a nonresidential college offering two-year courses of study

3. an adult education college with trade classes

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• community colleges
  plural

Etymology

Origin of community college

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

community college

When students don’t have the basic skills, they are sent to the nearby community college, often over the summer, to catch up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The contractor also started working with Southern Arkansas University Tech, a two-year community college in Camden, to ramp up apprenticeships, so it could more readily hire people who had never worked at a factory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026

Gannaway’s adviser, Unity Seay, helped her find jobs, tap a state program that pays community college tuition and weather rough patches—such as when juggling a full-time job with school almost pushed her to drop out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

Somewhere between Rue and Cassie on the desperation scale sits Elle Fanning’s Margo Millet, an eager community college student whose money troubles start when she falls for one of the oldest tricks in the book.

From Salon ● May 4, 2026

Papi did two years at a community college and is proud of his associates degree.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi