Meaning & use
frat kid
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A college student who belongs to a fraternity, especially one seen as loud, sociable and fond of parties.
Grammar: Can be neutral or teasing depending on tone: a friendly frat kid versus a stereotypical frat kid.
Patterns
- a frat kid from somewhere
My roommate joined a fraternity and became a frat kid in his first semester.
Not every frat kid spends his weekends at parties; some organize charity drives.
The frat kid next door lent us a ladder for the move.
Word forms
| plural | frat kids |
|---|
Common combinations
- typical frat kid
- He looks like a typical frat kid in his team hoodie.
- stereotypical frat kid
- She avoided being a stereotypical frat kid at the party.
- former frat kid
- My cousin is a former frat kid who now works as an accountant.
- act like a frat kid
- Stop acting like a frat kid and help clean up.
- loud frat kid
- A loud frat kid shouted across the quad.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frat boy
- Frat boy is the more common phrase and is usually more openly mocking than frat kid.
- fraternity member
- This is the neutral, formal term and carries none of the stereotype.
- brother
- Brother is how members address each other inside the group, so it is an insider word rather than a label from outside.
Word family
- frat noun
- short for fraternity
- fraternity noun
- a social club for male college students
- sorority noun
- the equivalent club for female students
- fraternal adjective
- relating to brothers or brotherly feeling
Commonly confused: frat kid or sorority girl?
frat kid vs sorority girl
A sorority girl belongs to a female college club, whereas a frat kid belongs to a fraternity.
Practice
Which best describes a frat kid?
Choose one answer.
A frat kid is a fraternity member at college. The other options do not involve belonging to a fraternity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frat kid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.