uni

¹ American  

[yoo-nee] / ˈyu ni /

noun

Informal.

1. a uniformed police officer; uniform.

   A uni phoned in the burglary at 2:19 this morning.

2. British and Australian.  university.

   Tony and Marc are both off to uni in two weeks.

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uni- ² American  

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Latin (universe ), used, with the meaning “one,” in the formation of compound words (unicycle ).

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uni- ¹ British  

combining form

1. consisting of, relating to, or having only one

   unilateral

   unisexual

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uni ² British  

/ ˈjuːnɪ /

noun

1. informal  short for university

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Usage

What does uni- mean? Uni- is a combining form used like a prefix, meaning “one.”  Uni- appears in a wide variety of everyday and technical terms alike.Uni- comes from the Latin ūnus, meaning “one.” The Greek counterpart of uni- is mono-, as in monologue. Learn more at our Words That Use article on the form.

Etymology

Origin of uni¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening

Origin of uni-²

< Latin ūni- combining form of ūnus one; -i-

Example Sentences

Some days they all work on the same project in the same computer lab at uni.

From BBC

"My dad graduated uni in Africa and graduated over here too, so he's an educated man. He could only want the same for his kids."

From BBC

"I'm a uni graduate, I'm a family man and I'm a professional boxer."

From BBC

"I'm spending £40 a week to get to and from uni – it's cheaper to drive," he says.

From BBC

But for me, the start of the show is uni mentaiko rice — an umami bomb with truffled mayo, seaweed, tobiko and a healthy amount of uni.

From Salon