undergraduate
Americannoun
adjective
-
having the standing of an undergraduate.
-
of, for, pertaining to, or characteristic of undergraduates.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of undergraduate
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How does undergraduate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An undergraduate is a college or university student who's not a graduate student. After high school, you can become an undergraduate. Undergraduates are students of universities and colleges: they've graduated from high school and have been accepted to college, but they haven't graduated yet. If the under in undergraduate seems confusing, that's because there are also graduate students, students who have a college degree but are no longer undergraduates and are pursuing an advanced degree, like a Master's or Ph.D. Lots of people say being an undergraduate was one of the best times of their lives: it's an exciting thing to be.
Vocabulary lists containing undergraduate
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.
As an undergraduate at Harvard, he majored in history and dreamed of becoming a professor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Despite having an undergraduate and a master's degree, Sophie said she had applied for 300 jobs in the past year with just one interview and no success.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The discovery happened unexpectedly while Chan was still an undergraduate student.
From Science Daily • May 27, 2026
These models show what a national strategy should look like: public investment, corporate sponsorship, university research capacity and continuous pathways from undergraduate study through doctoral work.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
It’s almost certain that if you decide to attend Princeton, the university will pay your tuition, room and board for the length of your stay as an undergraduate, beginning in the fall of 1979.
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.
