bachelor

bachelor — noun

1. a man who is still single and has not married before

1.nounB2
Definition

a man who is still single and has not married before

Example

At thirty-five, Ben was still a bachelor and lived alone downtown.

be a bachelor

The magazine named Dr. Chen the city's most eligible bachelor.

collocation: eligible bachelor

Common collocations
  • eligible bachelor
  • remain a bachelor
  • lifelong bachelor
  • rich bachelor
Synonyms
  • single

    more common in everyday English and used for both men and women

  • unmarried

    more formal and often used in legal or official contexts

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be a bachelor

remain a bachelor

eligible bachelor

Usage Note

Usually refers to a man who has never married, not simply a man whose wife is away. Compared with single, it is male-only and can sound slightly old-fashioned in ordinary conversation.

Common Mistakes

My sister is a bachelor.
My sister is single.
bachelor in this sense is traditionally used only for a man.

2. someone who has finished an undergraduate course at a university and been awarde

2.nounC1
Definition

someone who has finished an undergraduate course at a university and been awarded the degree

Example

At graduation, each bachelor crossed the stage to receive a hood.

formal academic use

Only bachelors may enter this master's program in public health.

plural: bachelors may apply or enter

Common collocations
  • new bachelors
  • bachelor of arts
  • bachelor of science
  • bachelors may apply
Synonyms
  • graduate

    broader because it can refer to any completed degree level

  • degree holder

    formal and broader; it does not specifically mean a first degree

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

bachelors may apply

new bachelors

a bachelor of arts

a bachelor of science

Usage Note

Mostly used in formal university or ceremonial contexts. In everyday English, people more often say someone has a bachelor's degree rather than call the person a bachelor. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about marriage.

Common Mistakes

She studied for bachelor at NTU.
She studied for a bachelor's degree at NTU.
For the qualification itself, English usually says bachelor's degree.

bachelor — adjective

Word family

  • bachelorhood
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, bachelor means a man who has never married. Single is broader and more common in everyday speech: it can describe men or women, and it does not show whether the person was married before. Unmarried is more formal and often appears in forms, reports, or legal writing. Divorced and widowed both describe people who had a marriage in the past, so they are not bachelors. If a magazine calls an actor an eligible bachelor, it suggests an unmarried man others may want to marry. If a form asks about your status, single is usually the safer word than bachelor.

bachelor ↗single ↗unmarried ↗divorced ↗widowed ↗

Etymology

Medieval LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Bachelor came into English through Old French bacheler, probably from Medieval Latin baccalaris. Early uses referred to a young knight or junior member of a group. Later English extended the word to an unmarried man and to a person who holds a first university degree. The degree sense grew from that older idea of lower rank or first stage.