frat
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of frat
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; by shortening
Explanation
A frat is a club for male college students. The stereotypical frat boy is a rich kid on spring break drinking beer, doing chest bumps, and crashing Daddy’s Mercedes. But of course some frat boys are very nice. Seriously, bro. The word frat is short for fraternity, and both words mean "body of men associated by common interest," from the Latin root fraternitatem, or "brotherhood." A frat will usually have their own house and a name made up of two or three Greek letters. A frat can be a close-knit community of young men who live, work, and volunteer in the community together. Some frats, however, are exclusionary societies that haze new members and throw drunken campus parties.
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.
See Examples For:
For a certain swath of millennials, Dan Finnerty’s rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of The Heart” in the frat comedy “Old School” is its definitive performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
But we didn’t want to take away the party — we wanted to take away the idea it was a frat house with no rules.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
All that testosterone seemed to change the theater briefly into a frat house.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
“Those groups would end up endorsing a bunch of frat bros.”
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
“Unless Jenny Lindt is secretly a frat boy, I seriously doubt it. They’re going to flop. This thing isn’t going to go any further.”
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Do you think people who are in frats will appreciate that "The Line" is authentic, even though the film doesn't paint them in a good light?
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2023
He added that frats that disaffiliate are working with professionals to create their own interfraternity council and that it would probably be operating in time for fall recruitment — which would likely include freshmen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
“There’s still a disconnect between queerness and frats and sororities as things that can go together,” Schieche said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
It can also indicate ample financial support for social activities outside of frats and varsity sports teams.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2019
Oh, I'm going in for the frats, for football, hold my own, you know— and I'm interested in gasoline engines.
From The Little Lady of the Big House by London, Jack
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.
