Meaning & use
extra-curricular
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Outside the usual course of study; not part of the regular school curriculum.
Grammar: Used before a noun: extracurricular activities, extracurricular sports.
Patterns
- extracurricular activity
- extracurricular activities
She has many extracurricular activities, such as choir and basketball.
The school offers extracurricular music lessons after class.
He spends his weekends on extracurricular sports.
Common combinations
- extracurricular activities
- Colleges look at your extracurricular activities.
- extracurricular sports
- He plays extracurricular sports like soccer and tennis.
- extracurricular music
- She takes extracurricular music lessons on Saturdays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- after-school
- Often refers to activities right after school hours; extracurricular is broader and can include weekends or evenings.
- non-academic
- Focuses on anything not related to school subjects; extracurricular specifically means outside the curriculum but still organized by or for students.
Opposites
Word family
- curricular adjective
- Related to the official course of study.
- curriculum noun
- The subjects and content taught in a school or course.
Commonly confused: extra-curricular or co-curricular?
extra-curricular vs co-curricular
Co-curricular activities are linked to the curriculum and often count for credit; extracurricular ones are separate.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'extracurricular' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Extracurricular describes activities outside the regular curriculum, like a photography club. Option An is wrong because such a class would be curricular, not extracurricular. Option C uses it as an adverb, which it is not. Option D is wrong because homework is part of the curriculum.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “extra-curricular”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.