undergraduate

American  

[uhn-der-graj-oo-it, -eyt] / ˌʌn dərˈgrædʒ u ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

noun

1. a student in a university or college who has not received a first, especially a bachelor's, degree.

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adjective

1. having the standing of an undergraduate.

2. of, for, pertaining to, or characteristic of undergraduates.

undergraduate British  

/ ˌʌndəˈɡrædjʊɪt /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: undergrad.  a person studying in a university for a first degree

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Other Word Forms

• nonundergraduate noun
• undergraduateship noun

Etymology

Origin of undergraduate

First recorded in 1620–30; under- + graduate

Compare meaning

How does undergraduate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• undergraduate vs. postgraduate

Example Sentences

The number of students earning undergraduate astronomy degrees in the U.S. is at an all-time high, quadruple what it was two decades ago.

From The Wall Street Journal

Powell’s answer, delivered to a room of Harvard undergraduates, was essentially no, at least for now.

From Barron's

The project began when Manasi Desai, an undergraduate student interested in cosmetic chemistry, approached her research advisor Joshua Lawrence in search of a project.

From Science Daily

At the time, Zhang was completing a doctorate in computer science at Harvard, and Gasztowtt was studying the same subject as an undergraduate at Oxford University.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pair hired an undergraduate to comb through phone book listings for fast-food restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• freshman
• junior
• senior
• sophomore
• student