Meanings
plural universities of life
- IrelandUKidiomaticThe real world as a source of instruction, as opposed to a formal education.
I learned all I need to know from the university of life, not from books.
1 more example
[BEAUFOY:] We are considerably out of pocket over this bally pressman johnny, this jackdaw of Rheims, who has not even been to a university. BLOOM: (Indistinctly) University of life.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLCSynonyms: school of hard knocks, university of the streets
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe real world as a source of instruction, as opposed to a formal education.
Cite this entry
university of life. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/university%20of%20life
“university of life.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/university%20of%20life. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “university of life,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/university%20of%20life.
Source: university of life on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.