undergraduate

noun

un·​der·​grad·​u·​ate ˌən-dər-ˈgra-jə-wət 

-ˌwāt;

-ˈgraj-wət

: a student at a college or university who has not received a first and especially a bachelor's degree

undergraduate adjective

Examples of undergraduate in a Sentence

a group of college undergraduates

Recent Examples on the Web

The number of new students, including undergraduate, graduate and transfers, is around 680, a 5% increase. — Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026

Deng transferred from Peking University to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an undergraduate and then received his PhD from Princeton University in 2015. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 24 July 2026

Tang was at University of Waterloo in Ontario when the undergraduate student left to work for Polymarket Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber, who Politico reported sent at least $350,000 to influencers via PayPal for these kinds of videos. — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 24 July 2026

Similarly, undergraduate-level students cannot transfer to a different school during their first year unless SEVP authorizes an exception. — Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for undergraduate

• postgraduate
• graduate

Kids Definition

undergraduate

noun

un·​der·​grad·​u·​ate ˌən-dər-ˈgraj-(ə-)wət 

-ə-ˌwāt

: a student at a college or university who has not yet received a degree