# graduate

Pronunciation: US say "GRAJ-oo-it" /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuɪt/; UK say "GRAD-yoo-uht" /ˈɡɹædjuət/

## Noun

1. A person recognized by a university as having completed the requirements for a degree.
   - Simple: Someone who has finished a college or university degree.
   - _The university invited all of its graduates back for a reunion._
   - _She is a graduate of a well-known law school in the capital._
3. A person recognized by a high school as having completed its course of study. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: In the United States, someone who has finished high school.
   - _Each graduate walked across the stage to collect a diploma._
   - _The class of recent graduates gathered for photos before the dance._
11. A cup or other container marked with measurement lines, used for measuring out precise volumes of liquid.
   - Simple: A cup or container marked with lines, used to measure amounts of liquid.
   - _The chemist transferred the solution into a graduate before recording its volume._
   - _Each graduate on the shelf was calibrated for a different range of volumes._
13. A person recognized as having completed a course or level of education. *(Philippines)*
   - Simple: A person who has finished a course of study at a school or college.
   - _The community center celebrated graduates from its adult literacy classes._
   - _As a graduate of the police academy, she began her first patrol._

## Verb

Pronunciation: US say "GRAJ-oo-ayt" /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒueɪt/; UK say "GRAD-yoo-ayt" /ˈɡɹædjueɪt/

2. To be recognized by a school or university as having completed the requirements for a degree.
   - Simple: To finish all the requirements for a degree at a school or college.
   - _Many students graduate without any debt these days._
   - _She graduated at the top of her class._
5. To be certified by an institution as having earned a degree from it.
   - Simple: To finish a degree at the school or college you attended.
   - _Many students graduate college with significant debt._
   - _She graduated Harvard in 2010._
6. Of a school or university, to confer a degree on a student who has completed its requirements.
   - Simple: To officially give a student a degree at the end of study.
   - _The institute aims to graduate more doctoral candidates each year._
   - _The academy graduated forty cadets in the spring ceremony._
8. To mark something with a series of degrees, or to divide it into regular steps or intervals.
   - Simple: To add evenly spaced marks to something so it can measure amounts or levels.
   - _Technicians graduate the thermometer's scale with fine, evenly spaced lines._
   - _The instrument maker graduated the cylinder so volumes could be read at a glance._
10. To change little by little, passing through a series of small steps or stages.
   - Simple: To change slowly from one state to another, step by step.
   - _Temperatures graduate from cool mornings to warm afternoons over the course of spring._
   - _The painting's tones graduated from deep shadow to brilliant light._
12. To prepare or adjust something by degrees; to arrange, temper, or modify it step by step, or to mark it with measured degrees.
   - Simple: To change or set something step by step, or to mark it with degrees.
   - _Engineers graduate the dosage scale on each instrument before it leaves the factory._
   - _The composer graduated the dynamics so the music swelled gradually toward the finale._
14. To approve a feature for general release, moving it from testing into full availability.
   - Simple: To approve a new feature so everyone can start using it.
   - _The project leads decided to graduate the API after months of beta testing._
   - _Once the company graduated the messaging feature, it appeared for every account._
15. Of an idol or virtual YouTuber, to leave their group or agency, usually marked by a special send-off ceremony.
   - Simple: To leave an idol group or online performing agency, often with a special farewell event.
   - _Several members graduate each year, and the agency holds a concert for each departure._
   - _She announced that she would graduate from the agency at the end of the tour._
16. To taper, becoming progressively shorter or narrower toward the end, as the tail feathers of certain birds.
   - Simple: To become gradually narrower toward the end, like some birds' tails.
   - _In many cuckoos, the outer tail feathers graduate so the tail ends in a stepped point._
   - _The hawk's tail graduated to a rounded tip rather than a square edge._
17. To bring a fluid to a certain degree of consistency by evaporation.
   - Simple: To make a liquid thicker by slowly boiling some of it away.
   - _Refiners graduate the brine until the salt begins to crystallize._
   - _The apothecary graduated the extract to a thick, even consistency over a low flame._

## Adjective

4. Relating to an academic degree.
   - Simple: Having to do with study for an academic degree.
   - _The university expanded its graduate offerings in engineering._
   - _Graduate seminars usually involve close reading and lively discussion._
7. Describing a person who holds an academic degree.
   - Simple: Describing a person who has earned a college degree.
   - _The firm prefers graduate accountants for its senior roles._
   - _A graduate teacher led the advanced seminar this term._
9. Arranged by degrees; increasing or changing in regular steps.
   - Simple: Arranged in slow, even steps or by small degrees.
   - _The designer chose a graduate range of tones that deepened toward the edges._
   - _A graduate sequence of weights let the climbers train in small steps._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4, 7, 9, 11, 13** — From Middle English graduat(e), borrowed from Medieval Latin graduātus ("graduated"), the past participle of graduō ("to graduate"), which comes from gradus ("step"). The noun developed within Latin from the adjective.
**Meanings 2, 5–6, 8, 10, 12, 14–17** — From Middle English graduaten ("to graduate"), formed from the adjective graduat(e) plus the verb-forming suffix -en, ultimately from Medieval Latin graduātus (see Etymology 1).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/graduate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).