matriculate

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verb ma·tric·u·late \mə-ˈtri-kyə-ˌlāt\

Definition of matriculate

matriculated

;

matriculating

transitive verb
: to enroll as a member of a body and especially of a college or university
intransitive verb
: to be enrolled at a college or university She matriculated at the state university.

matriculant

play \-lənt\ noun

matriculation

play \-ˌtri-kyə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

See matriculate defined for English-language learners

See matriculate defined for kids

matriculate was our Word of the Day on 06/16/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of matriculate in a Sentence

the college matriculated 1000 students for the fall semester

Recent Examples of matriculate from the Web

There are also drawings and paintings that Plath, who matriculated to Smith intending to be a studio art major, created throughout her life.

— julia felsenthal, Vogue, "The Lighter Side of Sylvia Plath", 30 June 2017
Stiene matriculated at Hillsdale College, a Division II school in Michigan.

— adam turer, Cincinnati.com, "Catching up: 2013 Ursuline softball champs make mark at next level", 23 June 2017
The point total* for Kentucky’s 2017 class accounts for two top-10 recruits: Knox and Diallo, who’ll be a redshirt freshman this season after matriculating for the spring semester.

— chris johnson, SI.com, "Will this be John Calipari's biggest rebuild at Kentucky?", 21 June 2017
Simmons attended Houston public schools before matriculating at Dillard University.

— monique judge, The Root, "Former Ivy League Administrator Ruth Simmons Named Interim President of Prairie View A&M University", 21 June 2017
Both Ivy League college graduates, Levine and Joost also matriculated through Hees' six-month program.

— greg trotter, chicagotribune.com, "Working at Kraft Heinz means competition, cost-cutting, and for some, reward", 25 May 2017
This spring, the talk was about Kim seeing more opportunities against left-handed pitching, but that never truly matriculated in Sarasota, and now, the Orioles' Opening Day left fielder can barely find his way into the lineup at all.

— eduardo a. encina, baltimoresun.com, "Kim is taking lack of playing time in stride", 15 May 2017
After two years of surgeries and rehab, David applied to Seminary, and matriculated at Harvard Divinity School.

— Southern Living, "This Kentucky Native Is Inspiring Cancer Patients Around The World", 1 May 2017
Deporting the dreamers could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, while denying legal status could prevent them from getting jobs or matriculating in some American colleges.

— WSJ, "Trump’s Dreamer Opportunity", 14 Dec. 2016

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

Did You Know?

Anybody who has had basic Latin knows that alma mater, a fancy term for the school you attended, comes from a phrase that means "fostering mother." If mater is "mother," then matriculate probably has something to do with a school nurturing you just like good old mom, right? Not exactly. If you go back far enough, matriculate is distantly related to the Latin mater, but its maternal associations were lost long ago. It is more closely related to Late Latin matricula, which means "public roll or register," and it has more to do with being enrolled than being mothered.

Origin and Etymology of matriculate

Medieval Latin matriculatus, past participle of matriculare, from Late Latin matricula public roll, diminutive of matric-, matrix list, from Latin, breeding female

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First Known Use: 1577

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