The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ACADEME
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
A
C
A
D
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E
More clues leading to the result ACADEME
- Some esteemed a Cambridge backing the scholarly world
- Sculpture made in great institutions of learning
- Life at university? Pinnacle includes a degree, English
- Plug English in top universities
- Reform made in first-class community of scholars
- Made out in expert world of scholars
- Scientists here made flexible card envelopes
- Some deemed a campus set back scholarly world
- Made to diversify in excellent place of learning
- Made to suffer in wicked college life
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "place of learning" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case place of learning = academe.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ACADEME mean?
ACADEME noun- The name of the garden in Athens where the academics met.
- An academy; a place of learning.
- The scholarly life, environment, or community.
- A senior member of the staff at an institution of higher learning; pedant.