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

UVU President Jon Anderson said the university must "learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations".

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Kirk's family has previously accused the university of serious security failures and has filed a wrongful-death notice, a step that can precede legal action.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

The groups can be "echo chambers where everyone just spins each other out about their kids", he says, and suggests having a proper conversation with your child about boundaries, before university starts.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

An attorney for the Kirk family said Friday the university “assumed responsibility for the safety of all in attendance, including Charlie.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Right at the university, he said, seeds were being planted of a contempt for human life such as the world had never seen.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

OpenAI agents attempted to get information from "governments, universities, public agencies, and other institutions" through sometimes extreme means, the company said.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Across universities, some enterprising parents have set up the sort of WhatsApp group chats you'd more typically find being used when children are at school.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Researchers dug into administrative and earnings records of recent graduates from public Texas universities.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

This is a very real part of life for students at historically black colleges and universities, but that doesn’t make it any less frightening.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

It will have to find new ways for relating to the universities, if its graduate programs are to expand as they should.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• academy
• institution
• school