graduate

UK: noun: /ˈgrædʒuət/, adjective: /ˈgrædʒuət/, verb: /ˈgrædʒueɪt/

US: /n., adj. ˈgrædʒuɪt, -ˌeɪt; v. -ˌeɪt/

US: (n., adj. graj′o̅o̅ it, -āt′; v. graj′o̅o̅ āt′)

Inflections of 'graduate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

graduates

v 3rd person singular

graduating

v pres p

graduated

v past

graduated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

grad•u•ate /n., adj. ˈgrædʒuɪt, -ˌeɪt; v. -ˌeɪt/   n., adj., v., -at•ed, -at•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Education a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study at a university, college, or school.
2. Education Also, ˈgrad•u•ate ˌstu•dent. a student who is studying for an advanced degree.

adj. [before a noun]

3. Education of, relating to, or involved in academic study beyond a bachelor's or first professional degree:
   graduate studies.

v. 

4. Education to receive a degree or diploma (from), on completing a course of study: [no object; ~ + from]
   to graduate with honors from college.
   [~ + object]
   She graduated college.
5. Education to give a degree to or grant a diploma to:
   [~ + object] The school graduates top scholars.
6. to advance by degrees:
   [no object] She graduated to a higher position in the company.

See -grad-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

grad•u•ate  (n., adj. graj′o̅o̅ it, -āt′;v. graj′o̅o̅ āt′), n., adj., v., -at•ed, -at•ing. 
n. 

1. Education a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study, as in a university, college, or school.
2. Education a student who holds the bachelor's or the first professional degree and is studying for an advanced degree.
3. a cylindrical or tapering graduated container, used for measuring.

adj. 

4. Education of, pertaining to, or involved in academic study beyond the first or bachelor's degree:
   graduate courses in business; a graduate student.
5. Education having an academic degree or diploma:
   a graduate engineer.

v.i. 

6. Education to receive a degree or diploma on completing a course of study (often fol. by from):
   She graduated from college in 1985.
7. to pass by degrees;
   change gradually.

v.t. 

8. Education to confer a degree upon, or to grant a diploma to, at the close of a course of study, as in a university, college, or school:
   Cornell graduated eighty students with honors.
9. Education, Informal Terms, Pronouns [Informal.] to receive a degree or diploma from:
   She graduated college in 1950.
10. to arrange in grades or gradations;
    establish gradation in.
11. to divide into or mark with degrees or other divisions, as the scale of a thermometer.

• Medieval Latin graduātus (past participle of graduāre), equivalent. to grad(us) grade, step + -u- thematic vowel + -ātus -ate¹
• late Middle English 1375–1425

grad′u•a′tor, n. 
Usage

In the sense "to receive a degree or diploma'' graduate followed by from is the most common construction today:
Her daughter graduated from Yale in 1981.
The passive form was graduated from, formerly insisted upon as the only correct pattern, has decreased in use and occurs infrequently today:
My husband was graduated from West Point last year.
Even though it is condemned by some as nonstandard, the use of graduate as a transitive verb meaning "to receive a degree or diploma from'' is increasing in frequency in both speech and writing:
The twins graduated high school in 1974.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

graduate noun / ˈɡrædjʊɪt/

1. a person who has been awarded a first degree from a university or college
2. a student who has completed a course of studies at a high school and received a diploma

verb / ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt/

1. to receive or cause to receive a degree or diploma
2. (transitive) to confer a degree, diploma, etc, upon
3. (transitive) to mark (a thermometer, flask, etc) with units of measurement; calibrate
4. (transitive) to arrange or sort into groups according to type, quality, etc
5. (intransitive) often followed by to: to change by degrees (from something to something else)

Etymology: 15th Century: from Medieval Latin graduārī to take a degree, from Latin gradus a step

ˈgraduˌator noun