diploma

[ dih-ploh-muh ]

/ dɪˈploʊ mə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diploma ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural di·plo·mas, Latin di·plo·ma·ta [dih-ploh-muh-tuh] /dɪˈploʊ mə tə/.

a document given by an educational institution conferring a degree on a person or certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed a course of study.

a document conferring some honor, privilege, or power.

a public or official document, especially one of historical interest: a diploma from Carolingian times.

verb (used with object), di·plo·maed, di·plo·ma·ing.

to grant or award a diploma to.

Nearby words

diploe, diplogenesis, diploic vein, diploid, diploidy, diploma, diploma mill, diplomacy, diplomat, diplomate, diplomatic

Origin of diploma

1635–45; < Latin diplōma a letter of recommendation, an official document < Greek díplōma a letter folded double, equivalent to diplō-, variant stem of diploûn to double (derivative of diplóos; see diplo-) + -ma suffix of result

Related forms

pre·di·plo·ma, nounun·di·plo·maed, adjective

Can be confused

certificate degree diploma license

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for diploma

The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is not the case, but the reality is worse: losing access to a diploma and getting kicked out of school.
The University Of New Orleans’ Cigarette Ban Is Total BS|Chloé Valdary|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This formula excludes students who take longer than four years to earn their diploma, and GEDs and other special diplomas.
The Daily Beast's Top High Schools 2014: Methodology|Brandy Zadrozny|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Palestinians who do manage to receive a diploma, against all odds, are faced with yet another challenge.
The Not-So-Bright Future of Palestine's Class of 2013|Maysoon Zayid|June 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He said he already had his diploma and was studying at a community college to be an electrician.
I Tackled a School Gunman|Shanley Rhodes|December 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
"I forgot how long it takes to get a diploma," he said, walking away again.
Rose in Bloom|Louisa May Alcott
How appropriate that she shares in the diploma that I doubly value for her sake!
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, January 1883|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle
They unanimously elected me an Academician, and I have received the diploma.
Art in England|Dutton Cook
Whether Biscuit or his mother was prouder of the diploma when it came, would have been hard to tell.
Sube Cane|Edward Bellamy Partridge
If a popular vote had been necessary, not one of them would yet have her diploma.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV|Various

British Dictionary definitions for diploma

diploma

/ (dɪˈpləʊmə) /

noun

a document conferring a qualification, recording success in examinations or successful completion of a course of study

an official document that confers an honour or privilege

Word Origin for diploma

C17: from Latin: official letter or document, literally: letter folded double, from Greek; see diplo-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

diploma

noun, plural di·plo·mas, Latin di·plo·ma·ta [dih-ploh-muh-tuh] /dɪˈploʊ mə tə/.

verb (used with object), di·plo·maed, di·plo·ma·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of diploma

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for diploma

British Dictionary definitions for diploma

diploma

noun

Word Origin for diploma