alma mater

al·ma ma·ter | \ ˌal-mə-ˈmä-tər

How to pronounce alma mater (audio)

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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 After playing at Michigan under coach Bo Schembechler, Hankwitz started his career as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, overseeing the junior varsity team in 1970. — Shannon Ryan, chicagotribune.com, "‘A great run’: Northwestern hopes to send defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz out on a winning note after 51 years in college football. The Wildcats face Auburn eyeing a 4th straight bowl victory.," 1 Jan. 2021 All-American as a player at Carroll and now has a 36-3 record in three seasons as the head coach at his alma mater. — Greg Riddle, Dallas News, "Euless Trinity and Southlake Carroll once played in a game that showcased the grandeur of Texas high school football. They meet again Saturday," 31 Dec. 2020 Most galling, of course, was the 29-0 blanking Saturday by arch-rival Troy, which is not only Campbell’s alma mater, but the school the Jaguars compete most closely with for recruits. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "South Alabama’s Steve Campbell says he expects to be back in 2021," 6 Dec. 2020 Since Scott Frost returned to Lincoln to coach his alma mater, the Cornhuskers have gone 12-20 and signs of a turnaround have begun to fade. — Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, "Big Ten's 2020 winners, losers: While Michigan football suffered, Michigan State actually won," 28 Dec. 2020 In March 2018, Clark-Heard decided to leave her alma mater and return to Cincinnati to become the program's newest head coach. — Keith Jenkins, The Enquirer, "'Without Laurie Pirtle, I'm not here': UC's Michelle Clark-Heard salutes ex-Bearcats coach," 24 Nov. 2020 When Hill was still at ESPN, and watching a basketball game featuring her alma mater, Michigan State, she was contacted by ESPN’s security arm, who told her a credible threat was phoned into a local police department. — Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, "Jemele Hill, other former Black ESPN stars, do it their way," 14 Nov. 2020 Check out your alma mater’s alumni career services. — Carol Fishman Cohen, NBC News, "To the 865,000 women who left the workforce last month …," 16 Oct. 2020 Five former Brown student-athletes who were plaintiffs in the 1990s case blasted their alma mater in an open letter published in The Providence Journal on Friday. — Mark Pratt, Star Tribune, "Brown women's sports settlement gets preliminary approval," 25 Sep. 2020

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.

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Last Updated

20 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Alma mater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alma%20mater. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021.

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