Phi Beta Kappa

[fahy bey-tuh kap-uh, bee-tuh]

noun

1. a national honor society, founded in 1776, whose members are chosen, for lifetime membership, usually from among college undergraduates of high academic distinction.

2. a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Phi Beta Kappa

/ ˈfaɪ ˈbeɪtə ˈkæpə, ˈbiːtə /

noun

1. a national honorary society, founded in 1776, membership of which is based on high academic ability

2. a member of this society

Word History and Origins

Origin of Phi Beta Kappa¹

from the initials of the Greek motto philosophia biou kubernētēs philosophy the guide of life

Example Sentences

The film, in its first minutes, prefers the latter, opening with a rat-a-tat montage of her many successes: author, linguist, Phi Beta Kappa scholar.

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He grew up here, was valedictorian at Jefferson High School and a Phi Beta Kappa political science student at UCLA.

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At Columbia University, he breezed through literature studies and earned a bachelor’s degree, with a Phi Beta Kappa key, in 1952.

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A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, she graduated from New York University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism before deciding on a law career.

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She became a Swiss citizen at age 14 and was a Phi Beta Kappa when she graduated from Stanford with a degree in political science.

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