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Sorbonne

American  
[sawr-bon, -buhn, sawr-bawn] / sɔrˈbɒn, -ˈbʌn, sɔrˈbɔn /

noun

  1. the seat of the faculties of arts and letters of the University of Paris.

  2. a theological college founded in Paris in 1253 by Robert de Sorbon, suppressed in 1792, and ceasing to exist about 1850.


Sorbonne British  
/ sɔrbɔn /

noun

  1. a part of the University of Paris containing the faculties of science and literature: founded in 1253 by Robert de Sorbon as a theological college; given to the university in 1808

"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

Example Sentences

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The Sorbonne has said the "Moliere Ex Machina" project was aimed at "bringing to life a world that never was, but could have been", and acknowledged its attempt to imitate Moliere "was bold, almost sacrilegious".

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

To explore how nutrition relates to cardiovascular health in more detail, scientists from INRAE, Inserm, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, and Cnam examined more than whether foods came from plant or animal sources.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

LeCun was born in Paris, raised in the city’s suburbs and attended what’s now known as the Sorbonne University in France in the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

“This is not the first time such sentiments are running high in Iran,” said Mojitaba Najafi, a Paris-based researcher and lecturer at Sorbonne University.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2024

Robert de Sorbonne smiled distantly, as if he were listening to an entirely different conversation.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz