Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for classmate. Search instead for class+psilotatae.
Synonyms

classmate

American  
[klas-meyt, klahs-] / ˈklæsˌmeɪt, ˈklɑs- /

noun

  1. a member of the same class at a school or college.

classmate British  
/ ˈklɑːsˌmeɪt /

noun

  1. a friend or contemporary of the same class in a school, college, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of classmate

An Americanism dating back to 1705–15; class + mate 1

Explanation

Your classmate is someone who goes to school with you. It's hard to believe when you first start college that some of your classmates will become your very best friends. Your school friends are your classmates, and so are the fellow students you barely know at all. In a small class, you get to know most of your classmates fairly well, while in a large lecture even your teacher might not know all your classmates' names. The word dates from the 18th century, a combination of class, from the Latin classis, "class or division," and mate, "fellow or comrade."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

Rather, I’d say scrolling the subreddit is like auditing a university science course where the professor prioritizes discussion, and every classmate is, for once, eager to put their hand in the air.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

It led to her classmate, Olly, playing along with her and convincing his mum to let him go to the same after-school club taught by Laura.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Vauhini Vara, is a tech journalist and the 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist of “The Immortal King Rao,” who spent several years with Mahajan at Stanford as his classmate.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

The show follows three childhood friends whose very different lives converge at a wake for a former classmate in rural Ireland.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

That reminded Aru of the mom at school who’d gotten banned from the library after tearing out certain pages in books just so her kid’s rival classmate couldn’t do his research.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

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.