What it means
Short for university, and the everyday word loads of people use in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. You say go to uni, be at uni, start uni, finish uni, drop out of uni. It carries the whole student-life cloud with it too: halls, grim kitchens, last-minute essays, cheap nights out and acting like being skint is basically a hobby.
Usage examples
"Mum keeps asking when I’ll get a proper job, but I’m off to uni for freshers, skint already, hunting cheap pints."
"She's off to uni in September to study engineering."
"I shared a grotty flat with three mates back at uni."
"I’m at uni all week, so if you want me, catch me after Wednesday when my brain stops sizzling."
"He met half his mates at uni and somehow also learned to live off toast and bad decisions."
Where it comes from
Uni is a clipped form of university, built by chopping the longer word down to the bit people actually say in quick everyday chat. It’s been around in English for ages and stuck hardest in British, Australian and New Zealand speech, where it sounds casual, normal and totally unstuffy.
