# graduate

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuət/ · frequency rank #3,000

## Definitions
1. A person who is recognized by a university as having completed the requirements of a degree studied at the institution.
2. A person who is recognized by a high school as having completed the requirements of a course of study at the school.
3. A person who is recognized as having completed any level of education.
4. A graduated (marked) cup or other container, thus fit for measuring.

## Etymology
From Middle English graduat(e) (“(noun) a graduate of a university; (adjective) graduate, having graduated”, also used as the past participle of graduaten (“to graduate”)), borrowed from Medieval Latin graduātus (“graduated, graduate”), perfect passive participle of graduō (“to graduate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from gradus (“step”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). The noun is originally derived within Latin from the adjective via substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix). Sense 10 of the verb, relating to Japanese entertainment, is a semantic loan from Japanese 卒業 (sotsugyō).

## Easily confused with
- **graduated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/graduate-vs-graduated)
- **gradual** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gradual-vs-graduate)

## Common misspellings (11)
`garduate`, `ggraduate`, `gradaute`, `gradduate`, `graduaet`, `graduatte`, `gradutae`, `graudate`, `grdauate`, `grraduate`, `rgaduate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/graduate