/ ˌækəˈdemɪk; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
[ usually before noun ] connected with education, especially studying in schools and universities :
The students return in October for the start of the new academic year.
high / low academic standards
an academic career
2.
[ usually before noun ] involving a lot of reading and studying rather than practical or technical skills :
academic subjects / qualifications
3.
good at subjects involving a lot of reading and studying :
She wasn't very academic and hated school.
4.
not connected to a real or practical situation and therefore not important :
It is a purely academic question.
The whole thing's academic now—we can't win anyway.
► aca·dem·ic·al·ly / -kli; NAmE / adverb :
You have to do well academically to get into medical school.
■ noun
a person who teaches and/or does research at a university or college
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent.: from French académique or medieval Latin academicus , from academia , from Greek akadēmeia , from Akadēmos , the hero after whom Plato's garden was named.