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graduate

n. · v. · adj.
US //ˈɡɹædʒəˌweɪt// grad·u·ate
  1. 1 person with a degree (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    someone who has successfully finished their studies at a university or college.

    an individual who has been awarded an academic degree or diploma upon completion of a course of study.

    Example

    The company is looking to hire a recent graduate for the marketing role.

    Example

    As a recent graduate of the law school, she found herself well-prepared for the rigorous demands of her first clerkship.
  2. 2 measuring container (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a container, like a glass tube or cup, that has lines on it for measuring liquids.

    a vessel, such as a cylinder or beaker, marked with a scale for measuring contents.

    Example

    Pour exactly fifty millilitres of water into the glass graduate.

    Example

    The chemist carefully poured the reagent into a glass graduate to ensure the volume matched the experimental protocol exactly.
    • measuring cup
    • graduated cylinder
Show 3 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 to finish school (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to complete your education at a school, college, or university.

    to receive an academic degree or diploma; used intransitively with 'from' or transitively in some dialects.

    Example

    He plans to graduate from high school in June and then travel for a year.

    Example

    After he graduated from the university with honours, several prestigious firms offered him immediate employment.

    Usage

    Usually takes the preposition 'from' before the name of the institution.
    • drop out
    Pitfall
    She graduated university last year.
    She graduated from university last year.

    In standard English, you must use the preposition 'from' after graduate when naming the institution.

  2. 4 to mark with a scale (v.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Technical

    to mark an object with a series of lines or steps for measuring something.

    to divide into degrees or intervals; to mark a scale on an instrument.

    Example

    The ruler is graduated in both centimetres and inches.

    Example

    The technician had to graduate the new thermometer manually to ensure the markings aligned with the mercury's expansion rates.
  3. 5 relating to advanced study (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate American English

    describing a student who is studying for a second, higher degree after their first one.

    relating to or being a course of study taken after receiving a bachelor's degree.

    Example

    She is applying for a graduate program in history at several universities.

    Example

    The university offers several graduate fellowships for students pursuing doctoral research in the field of molecular biology.

    Teacher's tip

    In British English, 'postgraduate' is the standard term for this level of study.
Etymology 1

From Middle English graduat(e) (“(noun) a graduate of a university; (adjective) graduate, having graduated”, also used as the past participle of graduaten (“to graduate”)), borrowed from Medieval Latin graduātus (“graduated, graduate”), perfect passive participle of graduō (“to graduate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from gradus (“step”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). The noun is originally derived within Latin from the adjective via substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix). Sense 10 of the verb, relating to Japanese entertainment, is a semantic loan from Japanese 卒業 (sotsugyō).

Etymology 2

From Middle English graduaten (“to graduate”), from (adjective) graduat(e) (also used as the past participle of graduaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), from Medieval Latin graduātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Idioms1 entry

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