matriculate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
matriculates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
matriculated,
past participle, past
-
matriculating
present participle
-
to enroll in a college or university as a candidate for a degree.
-
to register (a coat of arms), used especially in Scottish heraldry.
verb (used without object)
-
matriculates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
matriculated,
past participle, past
-
matriculating
present participle
noun
verb
-
to enrol or be enrolled in an institution, esp a college or university
-
(intr) to attain the academic standard required for a course at such an institution
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
matriculatesimple
-
matriculatessimple
-
have matriculatedperfect
-
has matriculatedperfect
-
am matriculatingprogressive
-
are matriculatingprogressive
-
is matriculatingprogressive
-
have been matriculatingperfect progressive
-
has been matriculatingperfect progressive
Past
-
matriculatedsimple
-
had matriculatedperfect
-
was matriculatingprogressive
-
were matriculatingprogressive
-
had been matriculatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of matriculate
1480–90 for earlier sense; < Medieval Latin mātrīculātus (person) listed (for some specific duty), equivalent to mātrīcul ( a ) list ( see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing matriculate
The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Born a Crime
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"High School Football"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
The new study showed that’s part of it: One-third of the difference in attendance rates was because middle-class students were somewhat less likely to apply or matriculate.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
I spent last summer studying at Harvard University, and in September I'll matriculate at Yale University.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
The captivating ecclesiastical drama “Servants,” set in 1980s Czechoslovakia, follows teenage matriculates at a Christian seminary who awaken to a grim reality.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
“All American’s” Geffri Maya matriculates at a historically Black university in Atlanta in the new spinoff “All American: Homecoming.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2022
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., seemed mystified as to why House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would want to wrestle with government funding issues when she matriculates to the speaker’s suite in January.
From Fox News ● Dec. 19, 2018
An NBA rule forbidding teams to sign a college player until three years after he matriculates would lessen universities’ importance as incubators of NBA talent.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2017
He matriculates at one or another of the universities, and for three, four, or, in the case of medical students, five years, he is free to work or not to work, as he pleases.
From Germany and the Germans From an American Point of View by Price Collier
By far the biggest factor in admission, however, is whether an applicant has matriculated from another magnet school and how long an applicant has been on the waiting list for a magnet school.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
The Western College of Auctioneering has matriculated over 5,000 students, who auction everything from farm equipment to fine art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
It was only when I had matriculated and moved to New York City as a journalism major that I began to become haunted by the sound of my own voice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2023
He graduated from an arts high school, then matriculated at Juilliard, graduating in 1985.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
They’ve sent him to a decent school; maybe he’s even matriculated.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
After all, we’re on a planet where the city of Rome has been continually inhabited for 2,700 years, and the University of Bologna has been matriculating students for 938.
From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2026
The total number of black and Hispanic students matriculating at law schools has risen more than 5% over the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
“I hope that women keep getting out there running, hiking, matriculating, climbing, working, and living their lives as they deserve,” Rennison said in an email.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
I object to the current program because I worked full time while matriculating at a low-cost college and put myself through school entirely on my own dime.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2022
“I’ll be matriculating soon, and I need to at least have an idea about what lies ahead.”
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
