Meanings
plural extracurricula · plural extracurriculums
- The activities and groups, clubs, and societies that are sponsored or regulated by an educational institution but which are not part of the academic curriculum.
In their extracurriculums the outstanding schools are distinguished by the following practices:
1933, Francis Trow Spaulding, Orie Isaac Frederick, Leonard V. Koos, The Reorganization of Secondary Education: In Three Parts, page 2853 more examples
A theme of rugged individualism on the part of college students running their own extracurricula pervades the period before the NCAA was born.
1990, Ronald A. Smith, Sports and Freedom: The Rise of Big-Time College Athletics, →ISBN, page 134First there was the era of the church-dominated college with its unity of curriculum and extracurriculum, with its cohesive, self-contained life.
1997, John Seiler Brubacher, Willis Rudy, Higher Education in Transition, →ISBNBecause the extracurriculum was outside of the official curriculum, it was also outside of the control of faculty and college officials, who often found themselves in serious conflicts with students.
2011, Barbara J. Bank, Gender and Higher Education, →ISBN, page 267Synonyms: cocurriculum
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe activities and groups, clubs, and societies that are sponsored or regulated by an educational institution but which are not part of the academic curriculum.
Origin
From extra- + curriculum, possibly as a back-formation from extracurricular.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
extracurriculum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extracurriculum
“extracurriculum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extracurriculum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “extracurriculum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extracurriculum.
Source: extracurriculum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.