junior college

American  

noun

• junior colleges
  plural

1. a collegiate institution offering courses only through the first one or two years of college instruction and granting a certificate of title instead of a degree.

2. a division of a college, university, or university system offering general courses during the first two years of instruction or fulfilling administrative duties applicable to freshmen and sophomores.

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junior college British  

noun

1. an educational establishment providing a two-year course that either terminates with an associate degree or is the equivalent of the freshman and sophomore years of a four-year undergraduate course

2. the junior section of a college or university

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• junior colleges
  plural

Etymology

Origin of junior college

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

junior college

She made the U.S. women’s national team in 2018 and played junior college ball her freshman year but tore an anterior cruciate ligament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

He was sitting in the mid-90s as a high-schooler in the suburbs of Kansas City and reached 100 while pitching in junior college, as he grew into his 6-foot-7 frame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

A Jordanian company had gotten him admitted to a junior college in a tiny town in Oklahoma.

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

All five of the team’s starters began their careers at other universities, from Arizona Western junior college to North Carolina.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

He had gone to the junior college in town, Odessa College, but then left after a year to work full-time at Odessa Builder Supply.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger