undergrad

IPA/ˈʌn.də.ɡræd/
KK[ˈʌndɚɡrˌæd]IPA/ˈʌn.dɚ.ɡræd/

undergrad — noun

  • undergradsingular
  • undergradsplural

1. a student at a university or college who is working toward their first degree an

1.nounB1
Definition

a student at a university or college who is working toward their first degree and has not yet completed their studies

Example

Brian is an undergrad studying chemistry at the University of Toronto.

collocation: undergrad studying [subject]

The library offers a special study room just for undergrads.

Common collocations
  • undergrad degree
  • undergrad program
  • undergrad course
  • undergrad research
  • undergrad student
Synonyms
  • undergraduate

    the full, more formal equivalent

  • student

    broader term — includes all levels of education

  • college student

    common in American English, can refer to any student at a college

Antonyms
  • graduate student

    a student who has already earned a bachelor’s degree and is pursuing a higher degree

  • postgraduate

    British English term for a student beyond a first degree

Usage Note

Frequently shortened to 'undergrad' in spoken English and casual writing. The full form 'undergraduate' is preferred in formal academic writing.

Common Mistakes

My sister is an undergrad in a graduate program.
My sister is an undergrad in a bachelor’s program.
'undergrad' refers to someone studying for their first degree, not an advanced degree.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Undergrad' and 'undergraduate' mean the same thing, but 'undergrad' is the casual, spoken form — use 'undergraduate' in essays and formal letters. 'Student' is much broader, covering everyone from schoolchildren to PhD candidates, so it is not specific enough when you need to distinguish degree level. 'Freshman' refers only to a first-year student, not all four years. 'Graduate student' (or 'postgraduate' in British English) is the opposite: someone who has already earned a bachelor's degree and is studying at a higher level. For example, Ritu is a third-year undergrad majoring in biology, while her older brother is a graduate student in the same department.

undergraduate ↗student ↗freshman ↗graduate student

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • during undergrad
  • finish undergrad
  • work as an undergrad

Prepositions

  • as an undergrad
  • in her undergrad years

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Undergrad' is a shortened form (clipping) of 'undergraduate', which was formed in English from the prefix 'under-' (meaning lower in rank) and 'graduate' (from Latin 'gradus', meaning step or degree). The full term 'undergraduate' appeared in the 1600s to describe a student below the level of a graduate. The clipped form 'undergrad' emerged in the early 1900s as casual campus slang and has since become standard in informal English.