university

[yoo-nuh-vur-si-tee]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of university¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of university¹

C14: from Old French universite, from Medieval Latin universitās group of scholars, from Late Latin: guild, society, body of men, from Latin: whole, totality, universe

Example Sentences

A planned labor strike by University of California nurses has been called off after the university system and the nurses’ union reached a tentative deal on pay and benefits, both groups announced Sunday.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Events under the umbrella of Tehran Design Week will continue into Monday at other venues, but the university said it was closing its premises to ensure public safety after "a massive influx of visitors".

Read more on Barron's

"I went to university in Nottingham to study history, and I've always been really interested in the more gruesome and grotesque elements of history," she said.

Read more on BBC

Zac Segal, president of the university’s College Republicans, posted on X that he had been contacting ICE “for months on end” and framed the recent detentions as a response to his activism.

Read more on Salon

To violate the terms of the agreement brings dishonor to the university.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• academy 
• institution 
• school