graduate

[ noun, adjective graj-oo-it, -eyt; verb graj-oo-eyt ]

/ noun, adjective ˈgrædʒ u ɪt, -ˌeɪt; verb ˈgrædʒ uˌeɪt /

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See synonyms for: graduate / graduated / graduating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study, as in a university, college, or school.

a student who holds the bachelor's or the first professional degree and is studying for an advanced degree.

a graduated cylinder, used for measuring.

adjective

of, relating to, or involved in academic study beyond the first or bachelor's degree: graduate courses in business; a graduate student.

having an academic degree or diploma: a graduate engineer.

verb (used without object), grad·u·at·ed, grad·u·at·ing.

to receive a degree or diploma on completing a course of study (often followed by from): She graduated from college in 1985.

to pass by degrees; change gradually.

verb (used with object), grad·u·at·ed, grad·u·at·ing.

to confer a degree upon, or to grant a diploma to, at the close of a course of study, as in a university, college, or school: Cornell graduated eighty students with honors.

Informal. to receive a degree or diploma from: She graduated college in 1950.

to arrange in grades or gradations; establish gradation in.

to divide into or mark with degrees or other divisions, as the scale of a thermometer.

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Origin of graduate

1375–1425; late Middle English <Medieval Latin graduātus (past participle of graduāre), equivalent to grad(us) grade, step + -u- thematic vowel + -ātus-ate¹

usage note for graduate

In the sense “to receive a degree or diploma” graduate followed by from is the most common construction today: Her daughter graduated from Yale in 1981. The passive form was graduated from, formerly insisted upon as the only correct pattern, has decreased in use and occurs infrequently today: My husband was graduated from West Point last year.
Even though it is condemned by some as nonstandard, the use of graduate as a transitive verb meaning “to receive a degree or diploma from” is increasing in frequency in both speech and writing: The twins graduated high school in 1974.

OTHER WORDS FROM graduate

grad·u·a·tor, nounnon·grad·u·ate, nounsu·per·grad·u·ate, nounun·grad·u·at·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use graduate in a sentence

There was a lot of positive feedback from people interested in non-gender binary people.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She ultimately ditched JSwipe after about a week and found her current, non-Jewish, boyfriend on OkCupid.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
An atheist counsels his fellow non-believers on how not to talk to people of faith.
The Case Against In-Your-Face Atheism|Steve Neumann|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The distinction between over-policing and non-responsiveness was alive and well in Bed-Stuy.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Last summer, Louisiana also banned non-legal adoption, with offenders facing a penalty of $5,000 and up to five years in prison.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking|Tina Traster|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The expatriated ex-rebels became alarmed by the non-receipt of the indemnity instalment and the news from their homes.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
He also states that the Audiencia is virtually non-existent, and so there is no high court in which justice may be sought.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
De moi, je ne say qu'en dire, d'autant que je ne veux affirmer ny le si ny le non en ce dont je n'ay vidence.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Certes le capitaine Merveilles et ses gens monstrerent leur pit non vulgaire.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
It teaches you to take your time, or as the Germans call it, it gives you "Ruhe (repose)," the grand sine qua non!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay

British Dictionary definitions for graduate

graduate

noun (ˈɡrædjʊɪt)

a person who has been awarded a first degree from a university or college
(as modifier)a graduate profession

US and Canadian a student who has completed a course of studies at a high school and received a diploma

US a container, such as a flask, marked to indicate its capacity

verb (ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt)

to receive or cause to receive a degree or diploma

(tr) mainly US and Canadian to confer a degree, diploma, etc upon

(tr) to mark (a thermometer, flask, etc) with units of measurement; calibrate

(tr) to arrange or sort into groups according to type, quality, etc

(intr often foll by to) to change by degrees (from something to something else)

Derived forms of graduate

graduator, noun

Word Origin for graduate

C15: from Medieval Latin graduārī to take a degree, from Latin gradus a step

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

graduate

Origin of graduate

usage note for graduate

OTHER WORDS FROM graduate

Words related to graduate

How to use graduate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for graduate

Derived forms of graduate

Word Origin for graduate