adjective
-
Also: collegial. of or relating to a college or college students
-
(of a university) composed of various colleges of equal standing
noun
Other Word Forms
- collegiately adverb
- collegiateness noun
- postcollegiate adjective
- precollegiate adjective
- procollegiate adjective
- pseudocollegiate adjective
- quasi-collegiate adjective
- subcollegiate adjective
- uncollegiate adjective
Etymology
Origin of collegiate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word collēgiātus. See college, -ate 1
Explanation
Collegiate describes anything to do with college life or college students. You might refer to the leagues in which college athletes compete as collegiate sports, or to students studying chemistry as collegiate scientists. While college is a noun, collegiate is an adjective used to describe anything associated with college. The word collegiate was once associated with the idea of ivy-covered walls and impeccably-dressed students earnestly discussing philosophy and art. Nowadays, it can just as easily refer to political demonstrations and raucous behavior, as all have become part of the collegiate world.
Vocabulary lists containing collegiate
The Parker Inheritance
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Boy21
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The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
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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.
Top-seeded Oklahoma is the defending champion, claiming its seventh U.S. national collegiate title last April.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Meanwhile, student athletes are routinely playing for two, three or four different schools during their collegiate years.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
"You can see the enjoyment from the children but we're also seeing collegiate attitudes amongst the staff."
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Gervase started his collegiate career at Pfeiffer University, a Division III school in Misenheimer, N.C.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026
Everyone knew that the center of gravity in American collegiate rowing still lay somewhere between Cambridge, New Haven, Princeton, Ithaca, and Annapolis.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
