/ ˈstjuːdnt; NAmE ˈstuː-/ noun
1.
a person who is studying at a university or college :
a medical / science, etc. student
a graduate / postgraduate / research student
an overseas student
a student teacher / nurse
a student grant / loan (= money that is given / lent to students to pay for their studies)
student fees (= to pay for the cost of teaching)
She's a student at Sussex University.
—see also mature student
2.
( especially NAmE ) a person who is studying at a school, especially a secondary school :
a 15-year-old high school student
—compare pupil
—see also A student
3.
student of sth a person who is very interested in a particular subject :
a keen student of human nature
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SYNONYMS
student
pupil ♦ schoolboy / schoolchild / schoolgirl
These are all words for a child that attends school.
student
a person who is studying in a school, especially an older child:
Students are required to be in school by 8.30.
• ( especially NAmE )
Any high school student could tell you the answer.
pupil
( BrE ) a person who is being taught, especially a child in a school:
The school has over 850 pupils.
NOTE
Pupil is used only in British English and is starting to become old-fashioned. Student is often preferred, especially by teachers and other people involved in education, and especially when talking about older children.
schoolboy/ schoolgirl/ schoolchild
a boy, girl or child who attends school:
Since she was a schoolgirl she had dreamed of going on the stage.
NOTE
These words emphasize the age of the children or this period in their lives; they are less often used to talk about teaching and learning: an able schoolboy / schoolgirl / schoolchild
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
a(n) good / bright / able / brilliant / star / outstanding student / pupil
a naughty schoolboy / schoolgirl / schoolchild
a disruptive student / pupil
a(n) ex-/former student / pupil
a school student / pupil
a first-year / year 9/ year 11, etc. student / pupil
to teach students / pupils / schoolboys / schoolgirls / schoolchildren
student / pupil behaviour / assessment / numbers
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MORE ABOUT
students
A student is a person who is studying at a school, college, university, etc.
An undergraduate is a student who is studying for their first degree at a university or college.
In BrE , a graduate is a person who has completed a first degree at a university or college. In NAmE graduate is usually used with another noun and can also apply to a person who has finished high school:
a high school graduate
•
a graduate student.
A postgraduate is a person who has finished a first degree and is doing advanced study or research. This is the usual term in BrE , but it is formal in NAmE and graduate student is usually used instead.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin student- applying oneself to, from the verb studere , related to studium painstaking application.