extracurricularadj.n.
/ˌɛkstrəkəˈrɪkjᵿlə/, U.S. /ˌɛkstrəkəˈrɪkjələr/ A. adj.
1. Not on the normal or core curriculum; (esp. of an activity at an educational establishment) undertaken in addition to the principal course of study.
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1885 Sat. Rev. 14 Mar. 349/2 He describes his undergraduate life with great power... His desire of comradeship..; his desultory and extra-curricular reading; [etc.].
1915 New Republic 25 Sept. 198/1 It is a trite complaint that the undergraduate takes his extra-curricular activities more seriously than his studies.
1946 Life 18 Nov. 114/2 Howard has a normally lively interest in extracurricular activities like football, swimming, college dances [etc.].
2000 Edupage (online newsletter) 4 Oct. More colleges are creating interactive sites, and microsites, personal pages in which students can input their interest in majors, extracurricular activities, and financial aid, have become a trend among the more tech-savvy schools.
2018 ‘Akala’ Natives (2019) ii. 43 Despite the black community's best efforts to provide extracurricular education for their children and to keep them out of trouble, none of these institutions ever seemed to be close to as well funded as Britain's prisons were.
2. figurative and in extended use. Designating activities additional to or apart from what is usual or expected. Often used humorously with reference to flirtation, extramarital romantic or sexual activity, etc.
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1930 N.Y. Times 8 Aug. 19/8 Commissioner Charles S. Hand's investigation into the rum-running, extra-curricular activities of the city's famous garbage scow E.
1949 L. Charteris in Queen's Awards (1951) IV. 294 He's dumb enough to think that Lucy won't catch on to the extracurricular functions of that busty secretary.
2000 G. Santoro Myself when I am Real (2001) ix. 184 He had no trouble separating his duty to Judy from his extracurricular one-nighters.
B. n.
An extracurricular activity, course of study, achievement, etc.
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1928 Educ. Rev. (N.Y.) Jan. 42 (heading) Getting their value out of the extra curriculars.
1997 N.Y. Mag. 22 Dec. 90/2 Dworkin isn't interested in racking up extracurriculars; after 43 years spent studying the law, he's only interested in changing it.
2021 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Tribune (Nexis) 20 Oct. a1 When she is not busy with school or extracurriculars, Sanders works as a receptionist and COVID-19 screener at the Knife River Care Center.
Derivatives
ˌextracuˈrricularly adv. outside the normal curriculum; in addition to the principle course of study.
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1912 Columbian 13 You see your names printed as having run rapidly, jumped far and high, debated eloquently, played chess cannily, fraternized secretly, journalized, jested, been active extra-curricularly.
1938 Le Mars (Iowa) Globe-Post 10 Jan. 3/4 Extra-curricularly, as well as curricularly, the next few weeks will be busy ones.
2000 N.Y. Times 13 Dec. b11 (advt.) Extracurricularly, TCNJ [sc. The College of New Jersey] has a lot to offer.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
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adj.n.1885