alumnus

noun alum·nus \ ə-ˈləm-nəs \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Examples: alumnus in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Alumnus or Alumna?

Definition of alumnus

plural alumni play \-ˌnī\

1 : a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university

an alumnus of Columbia University

—usually used of a man in the singular but often of men and women in the plural

2 : a person who is a former member, employee, contributor, or inmate

a Saturday Night Live alumnus

See alumnus defined for English-language learners

See alumnus defined for kids

Examples of alumnus in a Sentence

Her parents are alumni of the state university.

Recent Examples of alumnus from the Web

The couple met in 2012, when they were introduced by mutual friends at the Blue & White Gala, an annual event for young alumni of Columbia’s engineering school.

— New York Times, "Komal Patel, Kishore Padmaraju," 1 July 2018
As the Huffington Post reports, the allegations were so troubling—and enough of a pattern had been established—that alumni and members of the community planned a protest at the school the night of June 20.

— anne branigin, The Root, "High School Antwon Rose Attended Faces Brutal Allegations of Police Abuse: Report," 28 June 2018
Mohammed Y Al Azzah of Schererville, who was raised in Gary and is an alumnus of Lew Wallace High School, already owns an auto repair shop in the area and wants to have a car lot on adjacent property.

— gregory tejeda, Post-Tribune, "Mayor: Port authority benefitting Gary," 22 June 2018
Cooper, an alumnus of Coi and Outerlands, has always had a particular talent for plants, and even some of his meat-bearing dishes use the protein merely as a central touchpoint that enriches the flashier ingredients in its orbit.

— jonathan kauffman, SFChronicle.com, "The Mission’s best vegetarian-friendly restaurants," 17 June 2018
Fears is an alumnus of the U.S. Naval War College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Harvard University.

— kathryn watson, CBS News, "Trump names Douglas Fears new homeland security adviser," 2 June 2018
Joining Chiang were Wetzel and about a dozen other family members of San Bernardino and other mass shooting victims, as well as California alumni of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Flo., where 17 people were killed in February.

— kathleen ronayne, Houston Chronicle, "Victims' families urge California to end gun investments," 19 Mar. 2018
Enjoy special guest appearances from Florida Panthers broadcasters, alumni and Stanley C. Panther, as well as a visit from Panther Patrol, a video game truck, corn hole, giant Jenga and more at various Broward County library events this summer.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "Aqua Challenge now open in Dania Beach," 19 June 2018
Dunn was selected last November by a combination of a fan vote, Reds alumni and votes from select media members.

— dave clark, Cincinnati.com, "Reds Hall of Fame Induction Gala features star-studded lineup," 15 June 2018

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

Alumnus or Alumna?

Many people are comfortable using the word alumni to refer to someone who was a student of a particular school. However, others feel quite strongly that this is an error and that the following forms should be used: alumnus (for one male), alumni (for multiple males, or for a mix of males and females), alumna (for one female), and alumnae (for multiple females). The shortened form alum and its plural form alums began to be used in the 19th century. Initially, alum was widely viewed as highly colloquial or informal, but is increasing in use as a gender-neutral alternative.