Did you know?
Is it acceptable to use alum for alumnus or alumna?
The words that we have used to refer to people who have attended or graduated from a school, college, or university have changed a bit over the past several centuries. Traditionally, the word alumnus has been used to refer to a single male, whereas alumna has been used for a single woman. Initially the plural forms were alumni to refer to multiple men (or multiple men and women) and alumnae for multiple women. A little over a hundred years ago the shortened form of alum began to be used to describe a graduate or past attendee of either gender. Although many people feel that alum is informal, it is in increasing use, and we appear to be moving toward a greater acceptance of the word. The plural of alum is alums.
Examples of alum in a Sentence
Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 18 May 2024
In the clip, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum shoots the single artwork for The Golden Years‘ title track, which also dropped Friday.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 17 May 2024
The Reba alum briefly stepped in last year after Shelton made his exit from the NBC singing competition series after 23 seasons.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 17 May 2024
Still, basking in the applause were Lanthimos and Stone, fellow Poor Things alums Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, plus Jesse Plemons, Mamoudou Athie, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn and Hunter Schafer.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
For more details about the gathering May 20 of PSA and Post 1011 alums along with alums from Posts 727 and 737 which were aimed at flight attendants and mechanics and to share your memories of working at PSA, email gmacuna57@gmail.com.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2024
Garrison Brown dies:Son of 'Sister Wives' stars Janelle and Kody Brown was 25
Garrison Brown's parents, brother pay tribute to 'Sister Wives' alum following death
Brown's parents, Janelle and Kody Brown, mourned the loss of their son in a pair of emotional Instagram posts.
—Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 16 May 2024
The actress, 48, is the latest Nickelodeon alum to accuse Schneider, 58, of inappropriate behavior, misusing his position of power, and fostering a toxic workplace environment.
—EW.com, 14 May 2024
Reba will be the only current Coach returning in Season 26 and—big news—will be joined by none other than Voice alum and three-time Grammy winner Gwen Stefani.
—Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 14 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to alum
Dictionary Entries Near alum
Cite this Entry
“Alum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alum. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
alum
noun
called also potassium alum
called also ammonia alum, ammonium alum
Share