undergraduates

IPA/ˌʌn.dəˈɡrædʒ.u.ət/
KK[ˌʌndɚɡrˈædʒəwəts]IPA/ˌʌn.dɚˈɡrædʒ.u.ət/

undergraduates — noun

1. students taking their first university degree, not a later one such as a master'

1.nounB1
Definition

students taking their first university degree, not a later one such as a master's

Example

The undergraduates filled the lecture hall before Professor Chen's economics class began.

plural subject in a university setting

Three undergraduates from Lagos won the robotics prize at the national finals.

undergraduates from + place

Common collocations
  • first-year undergraduates
  • international undergraduates
  • undergraduates at [institution]
  • undergraduates in [subject]
  • final-year undergraduates
Synonyms
  • students

    much broader; includes learners at school, college, university, or any level of study

  • undergrads

    informal short form used especially in conversation

  • college students

    common in American English, but it can also include learners on shorter college courses

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

undergraduates at + institution

undergraduates in + subject

first-year undergraduates

Usage Note

Often appears with numbers, subjects, or institutions, as in '200 undergraduates', 'undergraduates in history', or 'undergraduates at NTU'. Distinguish from 'postgraduates', who are studying after completing a first degree.

Common Mistakes

The undergraduates is waiting outside the lab.
The undergraduates are waiting outside the lab.
'Undergraduates' is plural, so it takes a plural verb.
An undergraduates from Seoul won the prize.
An undergraduate from Seoul won the prize.
after 'an', use the singular form 'undergraduate'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Student' is the widest word and can describe anyone who is learning, from a child at school to a doctoral researcher. 'Undergraduates' refers only to students who are still working towards their first degree. 'Undergrads' means the same group but sounds more casual. 'Postgraduates' and 'graduate students' describe learners who have already finished a first degree and moved on to a master's or doctoral programme. Use 'undergraduates' when the difference between first-degree students and later-degree students matters.

student ↗undergrad ↗postgraduate ↗graduate student

Common collocations

Phrases

  • first-year undergraduates
  • undergraduates at university
  • undergraduates in chemistry
  • international undergraduates

Prepositions

Etymology

English

This plural form adds -s to 'undergraduate'. The base word developed in English for a student below the rank of graduate, and 'undergraduates' simply names more than one such student.

First known use

1630

1630, in the meaning defined above