alma mater

noun

al·​ma ma·​ter ˌal-mə-ˈmä-tər 

1

: a school, college, or university which one has attended or from which one has graduated

went to a class reunion at his alma mater

2

: the song or hymn of a school, college, or university

"Hey, Harvard boy, sing your alma mater!" shouted an obnoxious producer.

—Phil Kloer

Examples of alma mater in a Sentence

I visited my old alma mater last week.

Recent Examples on the Web

His alma mater has been knocking on the door step over the past two seasons, advancing to the College Football Playoff in each year. —Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Cardinal coach John Tanner announced that Villa, 45, will become associate head coach at Stanford, her alma mater. —Dan Albano, Oc Register, 21 Aug. 2025

His 17 years as the school’s head football coach were among the most successful in school history and he was seen as a Wildcat icon, having spurned interest from bigger schools in order to remain with his alma mater. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025

The 48-year-old compiled a 110-101 record at his alma mater, including a 5-5 mark in bowl games. —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, fostering mother

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for alma mater

• annunciator
• imprimatur
• underwater
• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater

Kids Definition

alma mater

noun

al·​ma ma·​ter ˌal-mə-ˈmät-ər 

: a school, college, or university that one has attended

Etymology

Latin, literally "fostering mother," from almus "nourishing" (from alire "to nourish") and mater "mother" — related to alimentary, maternal