graduate

[n., adj. graj-oo-it, -eyt; v. graj-oo-eyt] /n., adj. ˈgrædʒ u ɪt, -ˌeɪt; v. ˈgrædʒ uˌeɪt/
noun
1.
a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study, as in a university, college, or school.
2.
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.
adjective
4.
of, pertaining to, or involved in academic study beyond the first or bachelor's degree:
graduate courses in business; a graduate student.
5.
having an academic degree or diploma:
a graduate engineer.
verb (used without object), graduated, graduating.
6.
to receive a degree or diploma on completing a course of study (often followed by from):
She graduated from college in 1985.
7.
to pass by degrees; change gradually.
verb (used with object), graduated, graduating.
8.
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.
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.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin graduātus (past participle of graduāre), equivalent to grad(us) grade, step + -u- thematic vowel + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
graduator, noun
nongraduate, noun
supergraduate, noun
ungraduating, adjective
Usage note
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.
Examples from the web for graduate
  • No one should deny that graduate education is in a bad way at the moment.
  • To provide graduate medical education payments to support community-based training.
  • Outstanding graduate programs are the hallmark of a great university.
  • In future, one of the big returns to a strong brand may be its effects on graduate recruitment.
  • His undergraduate and graduate level courses cover the field of visual cognition and psychology.
  • She is planning to go on to graduate school to study pharmacology and medicinal plant research.
  • There were dissertations on the bookshelves from his former graduate students.
  • Because these fellowships are full-time, they are not appropriate for matriculated undergraduate or graduate students.
  • Student and graduate questionnaires were audited for multiple or false entries.
  • Open to graduate students and juniors and seniors in college.
British Dictionary definitions for graduate

graduate

noun (ˈɡrædjʊɪt)
1.
  1. a person who has been awarded a first degree from a university or college
  2. (as modifier): a graduate profession
2.
(US & Canadian) a student who has completed a course of studies at a high school and received a diploma
3.
(US) a container, such as a flask, marked to indicate its capacity
verb (ˈɡrædjʊˌeɪt)
4.
to receive or cause to receive a degree or diploma
5.
(transitive) (mainly US & Canadian) to confer a degree, diploma, etc upon
6.
(transitive) to mark (a thermometer, flask, etc) with units of measurement; calibrate
7.
(transitive) to arrange or sort into groups according to type, quality, etc
8.
(intransitive) often foll by to. to change by degrees (from something to something else)
Derived Forms
graduator, noun
Word Origin
C15: from Medieval Latin graduārī to take a degree, from Latin gradus a step
Word Origin and History for graduate
n.

early 15c., "one who holds a degree" (with man; as a stand-alone noun from mid-15c.), from Medieval Latin graduatus, past participle of graduari "to take a degree," from Latin gradus "step, grade" (see grade). As an adjective, from late 15c.

v.

early 15c., "to confer a university degree upon," from Medieval Latin graduatus (see graduate (n.)). Intransitive sense from 1807. Related: Graduated; graduating.