uni

¹

[yoo-nee]

noun

Informal.

1. a uniformed police officer; uniform.

   A uni phoned in the burglary at 2:19 this morning.

2. British and Australian.,  university.

   Tony and Marc are both off to uni in two weeks.

uni-

²

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Latin (universe ), used, with the meaning “one,” in the formation of compound words (unicycle ).

uni-

¹

combining form

1. consisting of, relating to, or having only one

   unilateral

   unisexual

uni

²

/ ˈjuːnɪ /

noun

1. informal,  short for university

Word History and Origins

Origin of uni¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening

Origin of uni²

< Latin ūni- combining form of ūnus one; -i-

Word History and Origins

Origin of uni¹

from Latin ūnus one

Example Sentences

"There was no bad bone in his body, he was a really, really good kid and he was well loved by all of his friends, people at uni and just not the kind of person you'd ever imagine getting into a situation where something like that could happen."

From BBC

"I didn't believe mum was going to join the course at first as she was always saying she was going to uni but she never did. Everyone was shocked in freshers week as nobody expected a mother and daughter on the same course."

From BBC

Despite struggling to find a full-time job in the industry, Holly has just released her first commercial game alongside uni course mate Harvey Hayman.

From BBC

"I wish," says Imogen, "I could say everything was great and I had a really supportive uni. But I can't."

From BBC

"People of my age who came to uni in Sheffield, it's just so ingrained in our memories," the 52-year-old said.

From BBC

When To Use

What does uni- mean?

Uni- is a combining form used like a prefix, meaning “one.”  Uni- appears in a wide variety of everyday and technical terms alike.Uni- comes from the Latin ūnus, meaning “one.” The Greek counterpart of uni- is mono-, as in monologue. Learn more at our Words That Use article on the form.