matriculate

American  

[muh-trik-yuh-leyt, muh-trik-yuh-lit] / məˈtrɪk yəˌleɪt, məˈtrɪk yə lɪt /

verb (used with object)

matriculated, matriculating

1. to enroll in a college or university as a candidate for a degree.

2. to register (a coat of arms), used especially in Scottish heraldry.

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verb (used without object)

matriculated, matriculating

1. to be matriculated.

noun

1. a person who has been matriculated.

matriculate British  

verb

1. to enrol or be enrolled in an institution, esp a college or university

2. (intr) to attain the academic standard required for a course at such an institution

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noun

1. Also called: matriculant.  a person who has matriculated

Other Word Forms

• matriculation noun
• matriculator noun
• rematriculate verb
• unmatriculated adjective

Etymology

Origin of matriculate

1480–90 for earlier sense; < Medieval Latin mātrīculātus (person) listed (for some specific duty), equivalent to mātrīcul ( a ) list ( matriculant ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

When you matriculate at your local university, that means that you’ve enrolled there as a student. If you hope to matriculate at a certain school, it means you want to be a student there. The verb matriculate is often confused the verb graduate — which means a student has completed a course of study. Instead, use matriculate to describe the act of enrolling as a student at a university and save graduate for the day you hurl your tasseled cap at the sky. There is also a noun form of matriculate: a matriculate is someone who has enrolled as a student.

Example Sentences

More than half of high-school grads matriculate to college, even though only 35% of 12th graders score proficient in reading and 22% in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

While it will take a little time for the students to matriculate through college and into the workforce, this plan will be a significant contributor to solving the controller shortage problem.

From Salon • Oct. 18, 2025

I need it to matriculate into the master's programme I was accepted into at Columbia.

From BBC • May 4, 2024

Groban was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious music theater program, but his burgeoning singing career didn’t allow him to matriculate for long.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2023

Technically, apprentices were supposed to start their work at age twelve and gradually matriculate into higher roles, but Kamau—ever charming, ever likable—had appealed to Father Olufemi.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray