# intercollegiate

/ˌɪntɝkəˈɫidʒət/ (US) · CEFR C1 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/intercollegiate
Updated: 2026-10-16

## Definition

involving different colleges playing, competing, or working together, especially in sports. You use it mostly to talk about US college teams.

For teachers: involving competition or cooperation between two or more colleges or universities, most often in athletics. Common in American English to describe organized university sports leagues.

## Examples

- They play intercollegiate soccer every fall.
- She won a scholarship to play intercollegiate tennis for a large university.
- Although small liberal-arts programs struggle to fund intercollegiate teams, they argue that shared leagues build academic reputation as well as athletic pride.

## Usage notes

- Typically placed before the noun it modifies.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.