PhD

abbreviation or noun

variants or Ph.D.
plural PhDs or Ph.D.s
: the academic degree, title, or rank of doctor of philosophy
He was awarded a PhD in economics.
Jane Smith, Ph.D.
also : a person who has earned the academic degree of doctor of philosophy
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Watson School of Biological Sciences graduated its first PhDs (14 of them) in June 2004 … Horace Freeland Judson

Examples of PhD in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Around New England, other high-profile cases have included ICE officers detaining a Tufts PhD student who co-wrote a student newspaper op-ed critical of Israel and smashing the window of an immigrant’s car and yanking him out of the passenger seat in front of his wife. Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025 Loan types Undergraduate, graduate, Master's, PhD, MBA, law school, medical school, health professions, dental school, medical and dental residency loans, bar study loans. Adam Palasciano, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025 Ari Geller was born and raised in the Orlando area and is now a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania studying developmental biology. Ari Geller, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2025 What Experts Say About Moving Abroad Hannah Samaha, PhD, a child psychologist in Jacksonville, Florida, agrees that moving with kids to another country can be tricky. Jillian Pretzel, Parents, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for PhD

Word History

Etymology

New Latin philosophiae doctor

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of PhD was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“PhD.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PhD. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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