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Synonyms

university

American  
[yoo-nuh-vur-si-tee] / ˌyu nəˈvɜr sɪ ti /

noun

plural

universities

  1. an institution of learning of the highest level, having a college of liberal arts and a program of graduate studies together with several professional schools, as of theology, law, medicine, and engineering, and authorized to confer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Continental European universities usually have only graduate or professional schools.

university British  
/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsɪtɪ /

noun

  1. an institution of higher education having authority to award bachelors' and higher degrees, usually having research facilities

  2. the buildings, members, staff, or campus of a university

"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

Other Word Forms

  • antiuniversity adjective
  • counteruniversity noun
  • interuniversity adjective
  • nonuniversity noun
  • preuniversity adjective
  • prouniversity adjective
  • universitarian noun

Etymology

Origin of university

1250–1300; Middle English universite < Old French < Medieval Latin ūniversitās, Late Latin: guild, corporation, Latin: totality, equivalent to ūnivers ( us ) ( universe ) + -itās -ity

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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.

The university said it used opinion polls and financial viability to determine which candidates were invited.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

A lower-income household paying for a year at a public university, for example, “still has to come up with $15,000. That’s a loss for them. It’s just less than it used to be,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The university said this will be "the largest single donation made to a British university in modern times".

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

It’s a lively university town with breweries everywhere, bikes zipping past on nearly every street, and the kind of easy smiles and hellos that make Midwest nice feel real.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

The next morning, Sophie saw the word “freedom” painted over the entrance to the university.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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.