academic

Everyday

1. Academic means to do with school, study and learning, especially reading, writing and maths rather than practical skills. tree →
2. An academic is a person who teaches or does research at a university. tree →
3. (formal) A question that is academic does not matter in real life because it will not change anything. tree →

In the lessons

In school life: the academic year, academic results. In formal texts: academic writing. The phrase "it's academic" means it no longer matters. Phrases: academic year, academic work, academic success, purely academic.

Examples

• The academic year starts after the summer holidays in the UK. tree →
• She is very academic and loves books. tree →
• His uncle is an academic at a university. tree →
• Sport and academic subjects are both important. tree →
• Whether we would have won is academic now; the game is over. tree →
• Academic writing uses formal words. tree →
• Our school is proud of its academic results. tree →
• He is good at practical things as well as academic ones. tree →

Note

Starts with a vowel: "an academic". Pronounced ak-uh-DEM-ik. Noun: academy (a school), academia. Trap: the academic year does not start in January; in Australia and NZ it does start early in the calendar year, in the UK and USA in late summer.