graduate

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graduate [verb] (QUALIFY)
US /ˈɡrædʒ.u.eɪt/ 
UK /ˈɡrædʒ.u.eɪt/ 
Example: 

John graduated from medical school.

Oxford Essential Dictionary

graduate

 verb (graduates, graduating, graduated)
to finish your studies at a university or college and pass your last exams:
I graduated from Exeter University last year.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

II. graduate2 /ˈɡrædʒueɪt/ BrE AmE verb
1. [intransitive] to obtain a degree, especially a first degree, from a college or university
graduate from
Kate graduated from medical school last year.
graduate in
He graduated in physics from Cambridge University.
2. [intransitive] American English to complete your education at ↑high school
graduate from
Jerry graduated from high school last year.
3. graduate (from something) to something to start doing something that is bigger, better, or more important SYN progress:
As an actress she has graduated from small roles to more substantial parts.
4. [transitive] especially American English to give a degree or ↑diploma to someone who has completed a course
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to leave school/college etc
leave especially British English to finish studying at school or college, usually at the age or time when people normally finish: When James left school, he worked for a while with his father. | She found it hard to get a job after leaving university.
graduate to successfully finish your studies at a college or university, or at an American high school: Kelly graduated from Harvard with a degree in East Asian Studies. | Approximately 80% of Americans graduate from high school.
drop out to leave school, college, or university before your course of study has finished, because you do not want to continue with it: I failed my first year exams and decided to drop out and get a job.
quit American English to leave school without finishing your course of study: He quit school at fourteen to work and help support his family.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

verb   [ˈɡrædʒueɪt]  ;   [ˈɡrædʒueɪt]
1. intransitive, transitive to get a degree, especially your first degree, from a university or college
~ (in sth) Only three students graduated in Czech studies last year.
~ (from…) She graduated from Harvard this year.
He graduated from York with a degree in Psychology.

~ sth (NAmE) She graduated college last year.

2. intransitive, transitive (NAmE) to complete a course in education, especially at high school
~ (from…) Martha graduated from high school two years ago.

~ sth Martha graduated high school two years ago.

3. transitive ~ sb (from sth) (NAmE) to give a degree, diploma, etc. to sb

The college graduated 50 students last year.

4. intransitive ~ (from sth) to sth to start doing sth more difficult or important than what you were doing before
She recently graduated from being a dancer to having a small role in a movie.
Verb forms:

 
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from medieval Latin graduat- ‘graduated’, from graduare ‘take a degree’, from Latin gradus ‘degree, step’.  
Collocations:
Education
Learning
acquire/get/lack (an) education/training/(BrE) (some) qualifications
receive/provide sb with training/tuition
develop/design/plan a curriculum/(especially BrE) course/(NAmE) program/syllabus
give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
School
go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
be in the first, second, etc. (NAmE) grade/(especially BrE) year (at school)
study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
(BrE) leave/finish/drop out of/ (NAmE) quit school
(NAmE) graduate high school/college
Problems at school
be the victim/target of bullying
(BrE) play truant from/ (both BrE, informal) bunk off/skive off school (= not go to school when you should)
(both especially NAmE) skip/cut class/school
(BrE) cheat in/(NAmE) cheat on an exam/a test
get/be given a detention (for doing sth)
be expelled from/be suspended from school
Work and exams
do your homework/(BrE) revision/a project on sth
work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/(NAmE) a paper
finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies/coursework
hand in/ (NAmE) turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
study/prepare/ (BrE) revise/ (NAmE) review/ (NAmE, informal) cram for a test/an exam
take/ (both BrE) do/sit a test/an exam
(especially BrE) mark/ (especially NAmE) grade homework/a test
(BrE) do well in/ (NAmE) do well on/ (informal, especially NAmE) ace a test/an exam
pass/fail/ (informal, especially NAmE) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
University
apply to/get into/go to/start college/(BrE) university
leave/graduate from law school/college/(BrE) university (with a degree in computer science)
study for/take/ (BrE) do/complete a law degree/a degree in physics
(both NAmE) major/minor in biology/philosophy
earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a PhD in economics 
Example Bank:
He graduated with first-class honours in History.
Only thirty students graduated in Chinese last year.
She graduated from Bristol University in 2005.

She taught in France after graduating.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
 

graduate / ˈɡrædʒ.u.eɪt / verb (QUALIFY)

B2 [ I ] UK to complete a first university degree successfully:

Lorna graduated from the University of London.

Tom has just graduated with first-class honours in psychology.

B2 [ I or T ] US to complete school, college, or university correctly:

After he graduated high school, he joined the Army.
 

graduate / ˈɡrædʒ.u.eɪt / verb [ I ] (PROGRESS)

to move forward or improve:

She graduated from being a secretary to running her own department.

© Cambridge University Press 2013

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

graduate

The noun is pronounced /grædʒuət/. The verb is pronounced /grædʒueɪt/.
(graduated)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
In Britain, a graduate is a person who has successfully completed a degree at a university or college and has received a certificate that shows this.
In 1973, the first Open University graduates received their degrees.
...graduates in engineering.
N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N in/from/of n

2.
In the United States, a graduate is a student who has successfully completed a course at a high school, college, or university.
The top one-third of all high school graduates are entitled to an education at the California State University.
N-COUNT: usu supp N

3.
In Britain, when a student graduates from university, they have successfully completed a degree course.
She graduated in English and Drama from Manchester University.
VERB: V prep, also V

4.
In the United States, when a student graduates, they complete their studies successfully and leave their school or university. You can also say that a school or university graduates a student or students.
When the boys graduated from high school, Ann moved to a small town in Vermont...
In 1986, American universities graduated a record number of students with degrees in computer science.
VERB: V prep, V n, also V

5.
If you graduate from one thing to another, you go from a less important job or position to a more important one.
From commercials she quickly graduated to television shows.
= progress
VERB: V to/from n

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

1grad·u·ate /ˈgræʤəˌweɪt/ verb -ates; -at·ed; -at·ing
1 a [no obj] : to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university
• He graduated from the university last June.
• They both graduated with honors.
• She graduated with a degree in history.
• He joined the navy after graduating from high school.
• a graduating class of 300 students
✦In British English, graduate refers only to earning a college or university degree. In U.S. English, graduate is also used for other schools (such as high schools).
b [+ obj] US of a school, college, or university : to award a degree or diploma to (a student) - usually used as (be) graduated
• He was graduated from the university last June.
c [+ obj] US informal : to earn a degree or diploma from (a school, college, or university)
• He joined the navy after graduating high school.
2 [no obj] : to move from one level to another usually higher level
• The word has graduated from slang to accepted use.
• My nephew has graduated from baby food to solid food.
• The former child actor has finally graduated [=moved on] to more serious roles.