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Is it acceptable to use alum for alumnus or alumna?
The words that we have used to refer to people who have attended or graduated from a school, college, or university have changed a bit over the past several centuries. Traditionally, the word alumnus has been used to refer to a single male, whereas alumna has been used for a single woman. Initially the plural forms were alumni to refer to multiple men (or multiple men and women) and alumnae for multiple women. A little over a hundred years ago the shortened form of alum began to be used to describe a graduate or past attendee of either gender. Although many people feel that alum is informal, it is in increasing use, and we appear to be moving toward a greater acceptance of the word. The plural of alum is alums.
Examples of alum in a Sentence
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026
Liam Payne’s young son, Bear, has been named the sole beneficiary of the One Direction alum’s estate, nearly two years after the pop star fatally plunged from a hotel balcony in South America.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 22 June 2026
Ferrel Onder's remarks come after a wave of former Top Model contestants spoke out against the show in recent years, including in the aforementioned Reality Check series and EW's own 20th anniversary feature that saw 14 alums reveal their experiences on the program.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 2026
Gilyard, a Barstow School alum, will report to Miami with the team later this week for training camp before playing at the Dominican Republic on July 3 and then visiting Mexico on July 6.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 22 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for alum
Cite this Entry
“Alum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alum. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
alum
noun
called also potassium alum
called also ammonia alum, ammonium alum
