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

But their alma mater has produced a much broader network of conservative power brokers who have shaped American politics for generations. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025

Rod Serling's historical marker will be installed at the Antioch College campus (his alma mater) in Yellow Springs. —Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Oct. 2025

At the onset of Cox remarks, a minority of attendees loudly booed his presence, but the governor was able to rally applause by invoking his pleasure to be back at his alma mater. —Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

The Chelmsford field hockey team received a special treat last Monday when USA Field Hockey Women’s National Team member Claire Danahy visited her alma mater to coach the program up for a day. —Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 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