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

The woman, who was 20 at the time, was attacked during a short-term relationship after she moved to Belfast to begin her university studies.

From BBC

This kept Menzies close to his university friend, the future Labour leader John Smith, who repeatedly tried to persuade him to switch parties.

From BBC

He also said the university was committed to protecting the rights of Muslim students and all groups from discrimination.

From Los Angeles Times

His luck ran out in the summer of 1976 when Delhi police arrested him for drugging 40 French university students and trying to rob them in the Indian capital.

From BBC

The discovery, published in one if the world's leading scientific journals, Science, shocked the research team, which included scientists from a university in China and the UK's Natural History Museum.

From BBC

Related Words

• academy 
• institution 
• school