alma mater

noun

al·​ma ma·​ter ˌal-mə-ˈmä-tər 

1

: a school, college, or university which one has attended or from which one has graduated

went to a class reunion at his alma mater

2

: the song or hymn of a school, college, or university

"Hey, Harvard boy, sing your alma mater!" shouted an obnoxious producer.

—Phil Kloer

Examples of alma mater in a Sentence

I visited my old alma mater last week.

Recent Examples on the Web

Williams returned to his alma mater and guided UNC to three NCAA titles (2005, 2009, 2017) and concluded with a career record of 903-264. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Nov. 2025

In November 2024, Kiyan committed to playing basketball at Syracuse University, which is his dad's alma mater. —Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025

In a recent interview with US Weekly, LSU basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal said his alma mater has reached out to Saban about coming back to Baton Rouge to lead the football program. —Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Kaine was supporting his alma mater, the University of Missouri, in a basketball game against Howard University in Washington, DC Monday night. —Zac Anderson, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, fostering mother

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for alma mater

• annunciator
• imprimatur
• underwater
• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater

Kids Definition

alma mater

noun

al·​ma ma·​ter ˌal-mə-ˈmät-ər 

: a school, college, or university that one has attended

Etymology

Latin, literally "fostering mother," from almus "nourishing" (from alire "to nourish") and mater "mother" — related to alimentary, maternal