college
Pluralcolleges
- 1An institution of higher education where students study for a degree; in the US, Ireland and the Philippines also used of any university, as in 'go to college'.
She applied to several colleges along the East Coast.
After two years at college, he transferred to a state university.
UsageFor the stage of study, usually no article: go to college, be in college; also before nouns: college friends.
Note
In this sense it is used loosely enough to cover universities too, so an American who says they went to college may well mean a university.
- 2A specialized division within a university, focused on a particular field of study.
He earned his degree from the university's college of engineering.
After twenty years as a nurse, she was named dean of the university's college of nursing.
UsageIn a name, usually a capital and of: the College of Engineering; lowercase in general use: the university's three colleges.
Note
Here the university is divided by subject. A College of Engineering gathers one field and its departments under a single head inside a larger university. It differs from the Oxford-style college, which teaches across fields rather than housing one.
- 3A postsecondary institution, distinct from a university, that mainly offers vocational and applied programs leading to diplomas or certificates; some also grant degrees.
In Canada, many students choose a college over a university because its two-year diplomas lead straight to jobs in the trades and health care.
The college trains students for careers in plumbing and electrical work.
Note
In Canada the word marks a separate track from university. Going to college points to vocational or applied training, usually for a diploma or certificate, rather than a university degree. That nearly reverses the American undergraduate sense, where college and university blur together, so a Canadian and an American can mean quite different things by "I went to college."
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Canadian colleges generally provide training for specific jobs leading to diplomas or certificates, as distinct from university degree programs. canada.ca
- 4A largely self-governing division of a university, not limited to one field of study, with its own teaching staff, library, and other facilities.
Each college within the university admits its own undergraduates and chooses its own fellows.
Students dine and study within their own colleges before lectures.
Note
The names put the college first and the university after a comma: Pembroke College, Cambridge; Balliol College, Oxford. A college is a society more than a building, and students usually remain members whether they live in it or not. In a federal university the balance can tip the other way: University College London is effectively a university in its own right.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 7 facts
- Pembroke College, Cambridge is a valid name with the college before the university designation. pem.cam.ac.uk
- Balliol College, Oxford is a valid name with the college before the university designation. balliol.ox.ac.uk
- A college is a community rather than simply a building. cam.ac.uk
- Students can remain college members while living outside college. jcr.stcatz.ox.ac.uk
- UCL belongs to the University of London federation. london.ac.uk
- Its legal name is University College London, without a comma; it operates as UCL. en.wikipedia.org
- UCL functions as a university in its own right. ucl.ac.uk
- 5An organized body of people who share a profession, duties or purpose, such as the College of Cardinals or a royal college of doctors.
The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome to elect the new pope.
Members of the medical college vote on changes to professional standards.
UsageMostly in names: the College of Cardinals, the College of Surgeons.
Note
Here the word stays closest to its Latin source: collēgium, from collēga, formed with the prefix con- "together." The result is a body of people joined in common purpose. James George Frazer's The Golden Bough still uses it freely, writing of "colleges of dancing priests" in ancient Italy.
- 6In Britain, Australia, Ireland and some other countries, a school, usually a secondary one and often private and fee-paying, especially as part of its name.
Her parents paid high fees to send her to a private girls' college in Dublin from the age of twelve.
Both colleges in the town take pupils up to the age of eighteen.
Note
Eton College is a school, not a university. In Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the word in a school's name can signal secondary level. Read such a name as the name of a school. Do not take it as a sign of degree-level teaching, however grand it sounds.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Eton College is a school rather than a university. etoncollege.com
- 7In Britain, a place of further education below university level, such as a sixth-form college or a local college offering courses to adults.
After her GCSEs, she moved on to college to study for her A-levels.
Two nearby colleges offer sixth-form courses in science.
UsageFor the stage itself, usually no article: go to college, be at college doing A-levels.
Note
Being "at college" in Britain at sixteen does not imply degree study the way the undergraduate meaning does: it is the stage between school and university. Students there are often working toward A-levels or a vocational course, and the same word covers adult classes for learners of any age.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Further education at sixteen does not imply undergraduate or graduate degree study. teachinfurthereducation.education.gov.uk
- Further education is the educational stage before higher education. ucas.com
- College students can study A-levels or vocational courses after leaving school. educationhub.blog.gov.uk
- Colleges also offer courses to adult learners without an upper age limit. hughbaird.ac.uk
Less common meanings
- 8A body of electors chosen to formally select a high official, especially a head of state.
In the US, the president is formally chosen by the electoral college, so a candidate can lose the popular vote and still win.
When Germany chooses a president, an electoral college made up of federal lawmakers and state delegates meets in Berlin.
UsageMost often in electoral college; once that is named, writers often shorten it to the college.
Note
The members are electors, not students. A body that exists to vote belongs with the group with a shared purpose rather than with any school, which is why the word fits it.
- 9A residential hall attached to a university, chiefly a place where students live rather than a division that teaches them for their degree, sometimes with its own tutors.
He shares a room with two friends in his college.
The residential colleges host dinners and social events each term.
- 10In Singapore, short for junior college: a pre-university school that students attend for two years after finishing secondary school.
- 11In Chile, a bilingual school, where students are taught their lessons in two languages.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English college, borrowed from Middle French and Old French college, from Latin collēgium. It is a doublet of collegium.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- College derives from Middle English college, borrowed through Middle French and Old French college from Latin collēgium. en.wiktionary.org
- College and collegium are etymological doublets. en.wiktionary.org