Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or elitism.

In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed, usually intentionally, by combining the sounds and meanings of two or more words. English examples include smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, as well as motel, from motor (motorist) and hotel. The component word fragments within blends are called splinters.