Ivy League
Ivy League (noun) means a group of eight long-established, highly selective private universities in the north-eastern United States: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale. Formally it is their athletic conference, but the name is used for the schools themselves. Example: “She applied to three Ivy League schools and got into two.”
How to use Ivy League
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe eight famous old American universities like Harvard and Yale.
Neutral as a proper noun; the adjective often carries a hint of snobbery.
Capitalise both words. The British rough equivalents are Oxbridge for the two oldest universities and the Russell Group for the research-intensive set.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
She applied to three _____ schools and got into two.
Etymology
From earlier Ivy colleges (1933), as Ivy League first used by AP sports editor Alan J. Gould (1935). The title became official after the formation of the athletic conference in 1954. From the tradition of Ivy Day at many older colleges and universities, where ivy is planted to honor academic excellence.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for Ivy League
See all rhymes for Ivy League →Frequently asked questions
Which universities are in the Ivy League?
There are eight: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale. All are private, all are in the north-eastern United States, and all but Cornell were founded before American independence.
Is Stanford or MIT in the Ivy League?
No. Both are equally or more selective, but the Ivy League is a specific athletic conference of eight north-eastern schools, and neither belongs to it. People sometimes call them 'Ivy Plus' informally.
Why is it called the Ivy League?
The name refers to the ivy growing on the old campus buildings, and it became the official title of the sports conference formed by the eight schools in the middle of the twentieth century. Various colourful origin stories circulate, but the ivy explanation is the one the universities themselves use.
What is the meaning of Ivy League?
"Ivy League" (noun) means a group of eight long-established, highly selective private universities in the north-eastern United States: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale. Formally it is their athletic conference, but the name is used for the schools themselves.