alma mater

al·ma ma·ter | \ ˌal-mə-ˈmä-tər

How to pronounce alma mater (audio)

\

Definition of alma mater

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 Before joining the Lions, Sanders was a star football player at Oklahoma State University, Brooks' alma mater. — NBC News, "Garth Brooks wears 'Sanders' jersey mistaken by fans as endorsement of Bernie," 28 Feb. 2020 And LaJeanna Howard needed a minute to calm her emotions before conducting postgame interviews following the biggest win of her first season as the head coach at her alma mater. — Greg Riddle, Dallas News, "Led by Deja Kelly’s clutch free throws, Duncanville girls top DeSoto in regional quarterfinals," 26 Feb. 2020 Southern Oregon University, her alma mater, awarded her its presidential medal in August. — oregonlive, "The departed: The stars, innovators and scoundrels, from Oregon and beyond, who died in 2019," 30 Dec. 2019 Sometime soon, the photographs, papers and other office items will be cataloged and donated to Howard University, Cummings’ alma mater. — Jeff Barker, baltimoresun.com, "After ‘unfathomable loss,’ Elijah Cummings’ congressional staff is in limbo as it carries on without him," 21 Nov. 2019 Under the proposal from the couple, the archives formerly held at the University of Maine, the Kings’ alma mater, would be moved along with the foundation’s offices to the home. — David Sharp, chicagotribune.com, "Stephen, Tabitha King plan changes to iconic Maine home," 9 Oct. 2019 Under the proposal from the couple, the archives formerly held at the University of Maine, the Kings’ alma mater, would be moved along with the foundation’s offices to the home. — BostonGlobe.com, "The fictional Maine town of Derry that appears in many of King’s tales, including “It,” is based on the author’s experiences in Bangor.," 4 Oct. 2019 Moseley has been named coach at Boston University, her alma mater, it was announced Tuesday. — Mike Anthony, courant.com, "UConn Assistant Marisa Moseley Named Coach At Boston University, Her Alma Mater," 17 Apr. 2018 The 62-year-old McGraw, who graduated from Bishop Shanahan High School in 1973, returned to Saint Joseph’s University, her alma mater, and served as an assistant coach from 1980-82. — Mike Owens, Philly.com, "Local coaches react to Muffet McGraw's success," 7 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alma mater.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about alma mater

Dictionary Entries near alma mater

Statistics for alma mater

Last Updated

16 Mar 2020

Cite this Entry

“Alma mater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alma%20mater. Accessed 28 Mar. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

derogate

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

March 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of rectitudinous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.