undergraduate
Americannoun
adjective
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having the standing of an undergraduate.
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of, for, pertaining to, or characteristic of undergraduates.
noun
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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.
Undergraduate enrollment in four-year computer- and information-science degrees fell by 8.1% last fall from the previous year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, a sharp reversal from the 10.4% growth recorded in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Undergraduate student government leaders routinely pass resolutions, most of which do not become news.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
Undergraduate borrowing was already limited, and those caps will remain the same.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
Undergraduate private loans almost always require a co-signer, and with the parent’s debt-to-income ratio significantly increased by the previous Parent Plus borrowing, these loans may not be attainable.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 17, 2025
Some criticisms of a typical college and of college life were given anonymously in the Outlook under the title, "The Confessions of an Undergraduate."
From How To Write Special Feature Articles A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers by Bleyer, Willard Grosvenor
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.
