undergraduate

noun

un·​der·​grad·​u·​ate ˌən-dər-ˈgra-jə-wət 

-ˌwāt;

-ˈgraj-wət

: a student at a college or university who has not received a first and especially a bachelor's degree

undergraduate adjective

Examples of undergraduate in a Sentence

a group of college undergraduates

Recent Examples on the Web

Within a minute, Delhi University undergraduate Sakshi Jain was pinned to the ground by an officer in riot gear, and then bundled into a police bus along with her peers. — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Oct. 2026

The then-undergraduate student made a complaint to campus police in November 2024, three weeks after the incident occurred, that she had been raped by a group of men at the Chi Phi fraternity house. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026

Construction is set to begin next year; the school plans to welcome graduate students in 2028 and undergraduates in 2032. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Harbach is a gifted observer of undergraduates, their pathos and their comedy, but his Westish is a gentle and perhaps too-good-natured institution, where even the jocks are nerds. — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for undergraduate

• postgraduate
• graduate

Kids Definition

undergraduate

noun

un·​der·​grad·​u·​ate ˌən-dər-ˈgraj-(ə-)wət 

-ə-ˌwāt

: a student at a college or university who has not yet received a degree