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

In January, a team consisting of undergraduates, law school students, faculty and staff will focus on the Middletown case by traveling to Missouri to conduct interviews with Middleton and witnesses, and pouring over legal documents spanning the 34 years since his trial. —Mark Guarino, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2025

More than a quarter of undergraduates are first-generation college students, according to the university system. —CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

All four students who died were undergraduates at the University of Idaho and killed in the middle of the night at an off-campus home in Moscow in November 2022. —Kevin Fixler november 19, Idaho Statesman, 19 Nov. 2025

The survey found that the number of international students pursuing undergraduate studies increased by 2 percent this fall, but the number of graduate students dropped by 12 percent. —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for undergraduate

• graduate
• postgraduate

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