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 Sapara is returning to his alma mater of Strongsville, while Fitch is being promoted to head coach at Avon. — Matt Goul, cleveland, "Strongsville hiring Kevin Sapara as boys basketball coach, Mike Fitch takes over at Avon," 30 Apr. 2020 Gary was doing fine and organized the drive-by parade for his niece because EMU was his alma mater, too. — Branden Hunter, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit basketball coach Gary Green who made helping others his life's mission has died," 28 Apr. 2020 Sam, 57, a retired urologist and generous benefactor to his alma mater, like his late father before him, comes by his loyalty on both branches of the family tree. — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "D.X. Bible brought ‘Chick’ Harrison home from ashes of war, pandemic in a tale that serves as a lesson for modern-day trials," 19 Apr. 2020 Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a high-school basketball phenomenon who has fallen on hard times and is coaxed back to his alma mater to coach its hoops team. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Ben Affleck Gives the Performance of His Career," 7 Mar. 2020 Arrillaga, who’s worth at least $2.5 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has donated considerable sums to his alma mater. — Bloomberg News, BostonGlobe.com, "Stanford to Use $55 Million John Arrillaga Gift to Cut Student Debt," 26 Feb. 2020 The company also worked with Carter to create a scholarship program at Hampton University, a history black college that is also her alma mater. — Chauncey Alcorn, CNN, "H&M becomes the latest fashion company to join the celebrity black designer trend," 14 Feb. 2020 On Thursday night, Melina Matsoukas returned to her alma mater to kick off the 2019 AFI Fest with a world premiere screening of her big-screen title, Queen & Slim. — Alexandra Del Rosario, The Hollywood Reporter, "Melina Matsoukas Talks "Challenging What’s Been Normalized," Authentic Storytelling at Star Studded 'Queen & Slim' World Premiere," 16 Nov. 2019 At John Carroll University in Cleveland, his alma mater, football is played in Don Shula Stadium, and other sports events are held at the Don Shula Sports Center. — Ken Belson, BostonGlobe.com, "Don Shula, NFL’s winningest head coach, dies at 90," 4 May 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

25 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Alma mater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alma%20mater. Accessed 1 Jun. 2020.

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