university and college education

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. grad‧u‧ate² /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.

Collins COBUILD 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

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.