university

American  

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

noun

• universities
  plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• universities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of university

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

Compare meaning

How does university compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• State College vs. university

Explanation

A university is a big school where you go to get a degree — maybe even a master’s or PhD. If you’re going to a university, you’re probably on a big campus that also offers housing for students and professors. Just like the word universe (“the whole world”), university comes from the Latin word universus, meaning "whole, entire." So think of a university as being sort of a world of its own — an institute of higher education where you live and study. A university generally offers advanced degrees and research opportunities in many fields. Sometimes college and university are used to mean the same thing, but colleges are typically smaller and more limited in scope than universities.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

university universities

About 10 years ago, university researchers discovered that the wastewater from shuttered mines contained rare earths.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Almost 3,400 18-and 19-year-olds joined the university last year – making up 9.5% of new starters, compared with 5.7% six years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

If the ABA did lose its accrediting power, law schools affiliated with a university would likely just use the university’s accreditor instead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Is it a one-hour course you can find online or does it have to be from an accredited university?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The specifics of the prayer were always different, for Father—who loved science—was an avid reader of a dozen university journals.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

They say they are increasing maximum maintenance loans and reintroducing maintenance grants to help with living costs, as well as working with universities and councils to improve access to student housing.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

China’s universities turned out students specializing in computer vision, a branch of computer science that tries to teach machines to see as humans do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The DoJ said Mabna had targeted the accounts of 100,000 academics around the world, and successfully compromised 8,000 professor email accounts at 144 US-based universities and another 178 academic institutions internationally.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

More than 95% of students in England take out loans, and tuition fees are broadly similar at most English universities, limiting lower-cost options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

I wrote Stan a letter telling him all about the universities I had heard from.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• academy
• institution
• school