college
Americannoun
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an institution of higher learning, especially one providing a general or liberal arts education rather than technical or professional training.
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a constituent unit of a university, furnishing courses of instruction in the liberal arts and sciences, usually leading to a bachelor's degree.
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an institution for vocational, technical, or professional instruction, as in medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, or music, often a part of a university.
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an endowed, self-governing association of scholars incorporated within a university, as at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England.
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a similar corporation outside a university.
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the building or buildings occupied by an institution of higher education.
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the administrators, faculty, and students of a college.
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(in Britain and Canada) a private secondary school.
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an organized association of persons having certain powers and rights, and performing certain duties or engaged in a particular pursuit.
The Electoral College formally selects the president.
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a company; assemblage.
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Also called collegium. a body of clergy living together on a foundation for religious service or similar activity.
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British Slang. a prison.
noun
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an institution of higher education; part of a university
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a school or an institution providing specialized courses or teaching
a college of music
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the building or buildings in which a college is housed
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the staff and students of a college
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an organized body of persons with specific rights and duties See also Sacred College
an electoral college
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a body of clerics living in community and supported by endowment
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an obsolete slang word for prison
Other Word Forms
- postcollege noun
- precollege noun
- subcollege noun
Etymology
Origin of college
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin collēgium, from col- col- 1 + lēg-, variant stem of legere “to choose, gather, read” + -ium -ium; colleague
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.
There isn’t a college basketball team around having a season quite like the Miami RedHawks.
It was the third consecutive ranked team beaten by the Bruins during a memorable weekend of college baseball.
From Los Angeles Times
As of 2025, more college students will learn online than in person.
A Brit School-inspired creative arts college is expected to open in Bradford in 2028 to help develop talent in the north.
From BBC
Job-market conditions for recent college graduates deteriorated at the end of last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
From MarketWatch
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.
