extracurricular

adjective

ex·​tra·​cur·​ric·​u·​lar ˌek-strə-kə-ˈri-kyə-lər 

1

: not falling within the scope of a regular curriculum

specifically : of or relating to officially or semiofficially approved and usually organized student activities (such as athletics) connected with school and usually carrying no academic credit

extracurricular sports

2

a

: lying outside one's regular duties or routine

b

: extramarital

extracurricular noun

Synonyms

• extramarital
• adulterous

Examples of extracurricular in a Sentence

hired a private detective to investigate her husband's extracurricular activities

Recent Examples on the Web

Any extracurricular school program requires funding to sustain itself, but operating a full-scale racing team is an especially costly endeavor. —Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

Exclusion is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which has protected the rights of trans kids to participate in all extracurricular activities for decades. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025

Much of collegiate learning occurs through extracurricular activities. —Christopher L. Eisgruber, Time, 9 Oct. 2025

Instead, the parking lot was filled with silver-haired grandparents who had arrived promptly to retrieve children and ferry them home or to extracurricular activities. —Marina Lopes, The Atlantic, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for extracurricular

• periarticular
• supraclavicular
• acicular
• articular
• curricular
• cuticular
• funicular
• lenticular
• navicular
• particular
• radicular
• reticular

Kids Definition

extracurricular

adjective

ex·​tra·​cur·​ric·​u·​lar ˌek-strə-kə-ˈrik-yə-lər 

: of or relating to those activities (as athletics) that are offered by a school but are not part of the course of study