a person who holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Science, etc
b.
the degree itself
3. Also called: bachelor-at-arms
(in the Middle Ages) a young knight serving a great noble
▶ USAGE Gender-neutral form: single person
Derived forms
bachelorhood (ˈbachelorhood)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French bacheler youth, squire, from Vulgar Latin baccalāris (unattested) farm worker, of Celtic origin; compare Irish Gaelic bachlach peasant
bachelor in American English
(ˈbætʃələr; ˈbætʃlər)
noun
1.
in the feudal system, a young knight and landholder who served under another's banner
: also ˈbacheˈlor-at-arms
2.
a man who has not married
3.
a young male animal, specif. a fur seal, that has not yet mated
adjective
4.
of or for a bachelor
Derived forms
bachelorhood (ˈbachelorˌhood)
noun or ˈbachelorˌship
Word origin
ME bacheler < OFr bachelier < ML baccalaris: see baccalaureate
Examples of 'bachelor' in a sentence
bachelor
And no wonder - his once notorious bachelor pad is now apparently rather grotty.
The Sun (2017)
A lifelong bachelor, he threw dinner parties rather than dine alone.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
Police could find no evidence of anyone else being in the 28-year-old's bachelor pad.
The Sun (2016)
But the prospect of bachelor life was no longer so appealing.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Together they have been working to banish his old bachelor image.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
And what a pair of eligible bachelors she has to choose from.
The Sun (2012)
He is not the only confirmed bachelor settling down.
The Sun (2014)
Clothes are left on red carpeted stairs in the hallway of the bachelor pad.
The Sun (2013)
He was concerned that he'd be a bachelor all his life.
Frederic Alan Maxwell BAD BOY BALLMER (2002)
She referred to him as her " old bachelor '.
Gavin Weightman THE FROZEN WATER TRADE (2002)
Will anyone have the cash to buy a multi-million-pound bachelor pad with delivery room?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He began to live a bachelor's life and had a mistress.
The Sun (2006)
He now seemed an old bachelor, more like a distant uncle than a husband or father.
Adam Sisman The Friendship: Wordsworth and Coleridge (2006)
He's given up his bachelor pad and now works and comes home to me.
The Sun (2013)
He's failing badly to adjust to life as a bachelor.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But when a man walks out of a marriage, somehow he turns back to being something like an eligible bachelor.
Jackson, Rosie Mothers who Leave (1994)
House prices are sinking so fast you may be able to afford to move from your rented bedsit to a Mayfair bachelor flat.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
So what does it take for a woman to snare the man who is widely considered to be the world's most eligible bachelor?
The Sun (2014)
A lifelong bachelor, he is still a compulsive flirt.
The Sun (2011)
This merely to set up a sight gag when the curtain rises: a vanity gallery of portraits of the old bachelor as wannabe maestro.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You just completed a bachelor's degree preparing you to work with at-risk youth.
Christianity Today (2000)
It's true: bachelors die younger than their married counterparts.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
No hen party, no bachelor party, no wedding showers.
The Sun (2010)
Me and my girlfriends, we did a bachelor party for Tiger and it was amazing.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They bemoaned their domestic trials and, like young bachelors in love, sought to divine the whims of the women in their lives.
Rotundo, E. Anthony American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the ModernEra (1993)
Quotations
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wifeJane AustenPride and Prejudice
In other languages
bachelor
British English: bachelor /ˈbætʃələ; ˈbætʃlə/ NOUN
A bachelor is a man who has never married.
American English: bachelor
Arabic: أَعْزَب
Brazilian Portuguese: solteiro
Chinese: 单身汉
Croatian: neženja
Czech: starý mládenec
Danish: ungkarl
Dutch: vrijgezel
European Spanish: soltero
Finnish: poikamies
French: célibataire
German: Junggeselle
Greek: εργένης
Italian: scapolo
Japanese: 独身の男性
Korean: 미혼남
Norwegian: ungkar
Polish: kawaler
European Portuguese: solteirão
Romanian: burlac
Russian: холостяк family status
Latin American Spanish: soltero
Swedish: ungkarl
Thai: ชายโสด
Turkish: bekar
Ukrainian: холостяк
Vietnamese: người đàn ông độc thân
All related terms of 'bachelor'
bachelor flat
a flat lived in, or intended for a bachelor
bachelor girl
a young unmarried woman , esp one who is self-supporting
bachelor pad
a flat in which a bachelor lives
bachelor seal
a young male seal , esp a fur seal, that has not yet mated
bachelor chest
a chest of drawers , esp., one for men's shirts, sweaters , underwear , etc.
bachelor party
a party held for his male friends by a man about to get married
knight bachelor
a person who has been knighted but who does not belong to any of the orders of knights
bachelor apartment
a flat consisting of one room that is used as a sitting room and bedroom , as well as a kitchenette and a bathroom
knights bachelor
a person who has been knighted but who does not belong to any of the orders of knights
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts is a first degree in an arts or social science subject . In British English, it can also mean a person with that degree. The abbreviation → BA or B .A. is also used.
bachelor's button
any of several plants of a genus ( Centaurea ) of the composite family, that have scaly , vase-shaped bracts below the white, pink , or blue flowers; esp., the cornflower and knapweed
bachelor's-buttons
any of various plants of the daisy family with button-like flower heads
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is a first degree awarded by universities .
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is a first degree in a science subject . In British English , it can also mean a person with that degree. The abbreviation → BSc or B .Sc. is also used.
Bachelor of Arts degree
a degree conferred on a person who has successfully completed his or her undergraduate studies, usually in a branch of the liberal arts or humanities
knights bachelors
a person who has been knighted but who does not belong to any of the orders of knights
Bachelor of Science degree
a degree conferred on a person who has successfully completed his or her undergraduate studies in a branch of the sciences
Bachelor of Arts (or Science, etc.)
a degree given by a college or university to a person who has completed a four-year course or its equivalent in the humanities or related studies (or in science , etc.)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife [Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice]