frat
frat Lexical Profile
frat Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A college or university social fraternity for male students (or occasionally a coeducational student organization).
"He decided to pledge a service-oriented frat during his sophomore year at the university."
North American A member of a college or university fraternity.
"The campus coffee shop was crowded with frats studying for their midterm exams."
• adjective
North American Relating to, characteristic of, or typical of a college fraternity or its members.
"They rented a large frat house just two blocks away from the main university quad."
• verb
To fraternize or associate on friendly terms, especially with local civilians or opposing forces during a military occupation.
"The commanding officer reminded the troops that they were strictly forbidden to frat with the local townspeople."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'frat' is widely used on American college campuses, many fraternity members consider the clipped term somewhat dismissive or stereotypical compared to the full word 'fraternity'.
• Rhymes for frat
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in late 19th-century American student slang as a clipped form of 'fraternity', from Latin 'fraternitas' meaning 'brotherhood'. The wartime verb sense is a separate mid-20th-century clipping of 'fraternize'.