Ivy League

noun

1. a group of colleges and universities in the northeastern U.S., consisting of Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown, having a reputation for high scholastic achievement and social prestige.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Ivy League colleges or their students and graduates.

Ivy League

noun

1. 1. a group of eight universities (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth College, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale) that have similar academic and social prestige in the US to Oxford and Cambridge in Britain

   2. ( as modifier )

      an Ivy-League education

Ivy League

1. A group of eight old, distinguished colleges and universities in the East, known for their ivy-covered brick buildings. The members of the Ivy League are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Universities; Dartmouth College; and the University of Pennsylvania.

Other Word Forms

• Ivy Leaguer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ivy League¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

These people might look like they’re conversing, having lively battles of collegiate wit, stereotypical of an Ivy League institution.

From Salon

Caleb Sanchez, a Cali boy, packed his memories of sunshine, beaches and In-N-Out burgers to get an Ivy League education and football experience at Columbia University in New York.

From Los Angeles Times

Louisiana immigration judge Jamee Comans denied Khalil’s multiple applications for asylum and a stay of his removal, ordering the government to send the Ivy League graduate to either Algeria or Syria.

From Salon

The Ivy League football season begins on Saturday, and there are 39 players from Southern Section high school teams listed on Ivy League rosters.

From Los Angeles Times

To him, the young coders were nerdy outsiders just like he’d once been, albeit ones from privileged Ivy League and Silicon Valley backgrounds.

From Salon