doctorate
Americannoun
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any of several academic degrees of the highest rank, as the Ph.D. or Ed.D., awarded by universities and some colleges for completing advanced work in graduate school or a professional school.
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an honorary degree conferring the title of doctor upon the recipient, as with the LL.D. degree.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of doctorate
First recorded in 1670–80; from Medieval Latin doctōrātus; see doctor, -ate 3
Explanation
A doctorate is an advanced university degree. Another name for a doctorate is a PhD. If you stick in school long enough, you just might end up with a doctorate (and a whole lot of debt). Many years of specialized study can result in a doctorate, which qualifies the graduate to teach at a college or university. To be awarded a doctorate, a student has to complete a dissertation or thesis, a huge research project that focuses on her area of study. Someone who has a doctorate is known as a "Doctor of Philosophy," and the word itself comes from the Medieval Latin root doctoratus, or "made a doctor."
Vocabulary lists containing doctorate
The Chosen
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Silent to the Bone
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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.
Kari Ruconich-Jones is attending a predominately online social entrepreneurship graduate program at Pepperdine University and, in August, her husband, Craig, is starting a physical therapy doctorate in Oregon, where they live.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026
It notes that he has a doctorate and vaguely describes him as “an author, historian, and investor.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Araghchi, who holds a doctorate in political thought from the University of Kent in England, has vigorously defended Iran's position in TV interviews with foreign media and posts on X.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
He studied economics at New York University before starting a doctorate at Columbia University, where he studied under Arthur Burns, who would also lead the Fed.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026
He dreamed of how he would get a bachelor’s degree in communications or business management and then a doctorate in theology.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
