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

The so-called secondary draft, which was discontinued six years later, was specifically targeted toward winter high school graduates, junior college players, college dropouts and amateurs who had been previously drafted but did not sign.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

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

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

Or at the luncheon meetings of the Optimist Club over at the junior college.

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