Matriculate

With graduation right around the corner, listener Mark G. requested that I do a tip about the word matriculate.

Matriculate is most commonly used as a verb. It means to enroll in or be admitted to a group such as a college, university, or program. When it is used in this way, it is usually followed by a preposition such as at, into, or to. It does not mean “to graduate.” Here are some examples of matriculate being used properly in the news:

“Both matriculated to an Ivy League College.” Deseret News

“As soon as their name is called on whatever day they are drafted, they matriculate into the workforce and become professionals.” ESPN

“For now it’s focused on patients such as Belanger and Charlotte Jacob-Maguire, a 23-year-old Montreal native whose right side was paralyzed by a stroke three weeks before she was due to matriculate at Oxford last fall.” Businessweek

We’re told that the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is still struggling to heal, because one of the alleged bombers matriculated there. Telegram.com

Sometimes matriculate is also used as a noun to refer to someone who was admitted to a program, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary, such use is chiefly limited to Indian English.

“In our report, we have an example of a 24-year-old matriculate from a small shanty in Dharavi (Asia’s largest slum in Mumbai) making leather jackets and selling them on the eBay platform to 30 countries worldwide.” The Hindu