community college

noun

An educational institution providing college education granting certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees, but not higher level degrees; junior college.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncommunity college (plural community colleges)

plural community colleges

  1. USAn educational institution providing college education granting certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees, but not higher level degrees; junior college.
  2. UKA secondary school, usually offering extended services of some sort.

Origin

The name derives from the fact that community colleges primarily attract and accept students from the local community, and are often supported by the local community through property taxes.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 社區學院 /社区学院, 社區大學 /社区大学
  • 社區學院 /社区学院 (shèqū xuéyuàn)educational institution
  • 社區大學 /社区大学 (shèqū xuéyuàn)educational institution
Finnish kansalaisopisto, työväenopisto
  • kansalaisopistoeducational institution
  • työväenopistoeducational institution
Hungarian közösségi főiskola
  • közösségi főiskolaeducational institution
Indonesian akademi komunitas
  • akademi komunitaseducational institution
Polish community college
  • community collegeeducational institution
Cite this entry
APA

community college. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/community%20college

MLA

“community college.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/community%20college. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “community college,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/community%20college.

Source: community college on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.