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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

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.

But classmate Felix is more relaxed: "You'd get used to it and find other things to do, so I don't think I would really mind."

From BBC • Mar. 25, 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

Warsh’s father-in-law, Ronald Lauder, is a former classmate of Trump’s and a major Republican donor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

“I’m never going to understand this,” my classmate cried in despair.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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.