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

David Sengthay, a Stanford senior and the head of the undergraduate-student senate, told me that protests typified the university’s history, up to and including his first two years in Palo Alto. —Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026

Dunning, who studies the social effects of notation, found his calling gradually, beginning with a double major in math and English as an undergraduate. —John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026

Harvard waives tuition entirely for undergraduates whose families earn $200,000 or less annually. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026

If the weather was nice, undergraduates would be sunning themselves, like erotic statuary, on the library steps. —Caleb Crain, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026

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