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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
See all Example Sentences for alum 
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Alum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alum. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
alum
noun
called also potassium alum
called also ammonia alum, ammonium alum
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