undergraduate

[uhn-der-graj-oo-it, -eyt]

noun

1. a student in a university or college who has not received a first, especially a bachelor's, degree.

adjective

1. having the standing of an undergraduate.

2. of, for, pertaining to, or characteristic of undergraduates.

undergraduate

/ ˌʌndəˈɡrædjʊɪt /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: undergrad. a person studying in a university for a first degree

Other Word Forms

• undergraduateship noun
• nonundergraduate noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of undergraduate¹

First recorded in 1620–30; under- + graduate

Example Sentences

Casting Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, stars of the goofball comedy “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” sounds like an idea dreamed up by undergraduate theater nerds smoking strong weed.

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He had been, as Mr. Maisel characterizes the undergraduate Leahy, “the epitome of a run-of-the-mill football player,” but that was the last time he was anything but the driving force behind every group he joined.

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Universities with an endowment of $2 million per undergraduate student are asked to waive tuition for students who pursue “hard science” programs.

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Those signing the compact would agree to cap undergraduate international student enrollment at 15%, with no more than 5% from any one country.

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It says colleges would stop considering race, gender and a wide range of other student demographics in the admissions process and to require undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• freshman 
• junior 
• senior 
• sophomore 
• student