school (schools plural & 3rd person present) (schooling present participle) (schooled past tense & past participle )
1 n-var A school is a place where children are educated. You usually refer to this place as school when you are talking about the time that children spend there and the activities that they do there.
usu prep N
...a boy who was in my class at school..., Even the good students say homework is what they most dislike about school..., I took the kids for a picnic in the park after school., ...a school built in the Sixties..., ...two boys wearing school uniform.
2 n-count-coll A school is the pupils or staff at a school.
Deirdre, the whole school's going to hate you.
3 n-count; n-in-names A privately-run place where a particular skill or subject is taught can be referred to as a school.
...a riding school and equestrian centre near Chepstow.
4 n-var; n-in-names A university, college, or university department specializing in a particular type of subject can be referred to as a school.
...a lecturer in the school of veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania..., Stella, 21, is at art school training to be a fashion designer.
5 n-uncount School is used to refer to university or college.
(AM)
Moving rapidly through school, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kentucky at age 18.
6 n-count-coll A particular schoolof writers, artists, or thinkers is a group of them whose work, opinions, or theories are similar.
usu with supp
...the Chicago school of economists...
7 n-count-coll A school of fish or dolphins is a large group of them moving through water together.
N of n
8 verb If you school someone in something, you train or educate them to have a certain skill, type of behaviour, or way of thinking.
WRITTEN Many mothers schooled their daughters in the myth of female inferiority... V n in n
He is schooled to spot trouble. be V-ed to-inf
9 verb To school a child means to educate him or her.
(AM; also BRIT)
FORMAL She's been schooling her kids herself. V n
10 verb If you school a horse, you train it so that it can be ridden in races or competitions.
(=train)
She bought him as a £1,000 colt of six months and schooled him. V n
11 →
schooled →
schooling →
after-school →
approved school →
boarding school →
church school →
convent school →
driving school →
finishing school →
grade school →
graduate school →
grammar school →
high school →
infant school →
junior school →
middle school →
night school →
nursery school →
pre-school →
prep school →
primary school →
private school →
public school →
special school →
state school →
summer school →
Sunday school
after-school
After-school activities are those that are organized for children in the afternoon or evening after they have finished school. adj ADJ n
...an after-school childcare scheme.
approved school (approved schools plural )In Britain in the past, an approved school was a boarding school where young people could be sent to stay if they had been found guilty of a crime. n-count
boarding school (boarding schools plural ), boarding-school A boarding school is a school which some or all of the pupils live in during the school term. Compare day school. n-var
business school (business schools plural )A business school is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and management. n-count
church school (church schools plural )A church school is a school which has a special relationship with a particular branch of the Christian church, and where there is strong emphasis on worship and the teaching of religion. n-count
convent school (convent schools plural )A convent school is a school where many of the teachers are nuns. n-count
day school (day schools plural )A day school is a school where the students go home every evening and do not live at the school. Compare boarding school. n-count
driving school (driving schools plural )A driving school is a business that employs instructors who teach people how to drive a car. n-count
elementary school (elementary schools plural )An elementary school is a school where children are taught for the first six or sometimes eight years of their education.
(mainly AM) n-var
...the move from elementary school to middle school or junior high.
finishing school (finishing schools plural )A finishing school is a private school where rich or upper-class young women are taught manners and other social skills that are considered to be suitable for them. n-var
...a Swiss finishing school., ...where the Princess of Wales attended finishing school.
first school (first schools plural )A first school is a school for children aged between five and eight or nine.
(BRIT) n-count
grade school (grade schools plural )In the United States, a grade school is the same as an elementary school. n-var oft in N
I was just in grade school at the time, but I remember it perfectly.
graduate school (graduate schools plural )In the United States, a graduate school is a department in a university or college where postgraduate students are taught. n-var
She was in graduate school, studying for a master's degree in social work.
grammar school (grammar schools plural )A grammar school is a school in Britain for children aged between eleven and eighteen who have a high academic ability. n-var; n-in-names
He is in the third year at Leeds Grammar School.
high school (high schools plural )
1 n-var; n-in-names In Britain, a high school is a school for children aged between eleven and eighteen.
...Sunderland High School.
2 n-var; n-in-names In the United States, a high school is a school for children usually aged between fourteen and eighteen.
...an 18-year-old inner-city kid who dropped out of high school.
infant school (infant schools plural )In Britain, an infant school is a school for children between the ages of five and seven. n-var
junior school (junior schools plural )In England and Wales, a junior school is a school for children between the ages of about seven and eleven. n-var; n-in-names oft in names after n
...Middleton Road Junior School.
magnet school (magnet schools plural )A magnet school is a state-funded school, usually in a poor area, which is given extra resources in order to attract new pupils from other areas and help improve the school's performance. (JOURNALISM) n-count
middle school (middle schools plural )
1 n-var In the United States, a middle school is a school for children in the fifth to eighth grades, between the ages of 10 and 13 or 14.
oft in names after n
...Harlem Park Middle School...
2 n-var In Britain, a middle school is a state school that children go to between the ages of 8 or 9 and 12 or 13.
oft in names after n
night school (night schools plural )Someone who goes to night school does an educational course in the evenings. n-var
(=evening classes)
People can go out to work in the daylight hours and then come to night school in the evening.
nursery school (nursery schools plural )A nursery school or a nursery is a school for very young children. n-var
(=kindergarten)
The availability of nursery school places varies widely across London.
old school tie
When people talk about the old school tie, they are referring to the situation in which people who attended the same public school use their positions of influence to help each other.
(BRIT) n-sing the N
Of course, the old school tie has been a help.
preparatory school (preparatory schools plural )A preparatory school is the same as a prep school.
(BRIT) n-var
prep school (prep schools plural )
1 n-var In Britain, a prep school is a private school where children are educated until the age of 11 or 13.
oft prep N
2 n-var In the United States, a prep school is a private school for students who intend to go to college after they leave.
pre-school (pre-schools plural ), preschool
Pronounced pri:sku:l for meaning 1, and pri:sku:l for meaning 2.
1 adj Pre-school is used to describe things relating to the care and education of children before they reach the age when they have to go to school.
WRITTEN ADJ n
Looking after pre-school children is very tiring..., The Halsey Report emphasized the value of a pre-school education.
2 n-var In the United States, a pre-school is a school for children between the ages of 2 and 5 or 6.
Children graduate to the kindergarten, then pre-school, and then school.
primary school (primary schools plural )A primary school is a school for children between the ages of 5 and 11.
(mainly BRIT) n-var oft in names
...eight-to nine-year-olds in their third year at primary school..., Greenside Primary School.
in AM, usually use elementary school
private school (private schools plural )A private school is a school which is not supported financially by the government and which parents have to pay for their children to go to. n-var
(Antonym: state school)
He attended Eton, the most exclusive private school in Britain.
public school (public schools plural )
1 n-var In Britain, a public school is a private school that provides secondary education which parents have to pay for. The pupils often live at the school during the school term.
He was headmaster of a public school in the West of England.
2 n-var In the United States, Australia, and many other countries, a public school is a school that is supported financially by the government and usually provides free education.
...Milwaukee's public school system.
school age
When a child reaches school age, he or she is old enough to go to school. n-uncount oft prep N
Most of them have young children below school age.
School age is also an adjective., adj usu ADJ n
...families with school-age children.
school board (school boards plural )A school board is a committee in charge of education in a particular city or area, or in a particular school, especially in the United States.
(AM) n-count-coll
Colonel Richard Nelson served on the school board until this year.
school book (school books plural ), schoolbook School books are books giving information about a particular subject, which children use at school. n-count usu pl
school bus (school buses plural )A school bus is a special bus which takes children to and from school. n-count
school dinner (school dinners plural )School dinners are midday meals provided for children at a school.
(BRIT) n-var
Overcooked greens are my most vivid recollection of school dinners.
in AM, use school lunch
school friend (school friends plural ), schoolfriend A school friend is a friend of yours who is at the same school as you, or who used to be at the same school when you were children. n-count oft with poss
I spent the evening with an old school friend.
school kid (school kids plural ), schoolkid School kids are schoolchildren.
INFORMAL n-count usu pl
...young school kids in short pants.
school leaver (school leavers plural )School leavers are young people who have just left school, because they have completed their time there.
(BRIT) n-count usu pl
...the lack of job opportunities, particularly for school-leavers.
in AM, use high school graduate
school lunch (school lunches plural )School lunches are midday meals provided for children at a school. n-var
(=school dinner)
school teaching
School teaching is the work done by teachers in a school.
FORMAL n-uncount
(=teaching)
He returned to school teaching.
secondary school (secondary schools plural )A secondary school is a school for pupils between the ages of 11 or 12 and 17 or 18. n-var
She taught history at a secondary school...
special school (special schools plural )A special school is a school for children who have some kind of serious physical or mental problem.
(BRIT) n-count
state school (state schools plural )A state school is a school that is controlled and funded by the government or a local authority, and which children can attend without having to pay.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use public school
summer school (summer schools plural )
1 n-var A summer school is an educational course on a particular subject that is run during the summer. The students usually stay at the place where the summer school is being held.
(mainly BRIT)
...a summer school for young professional singers.
2 n-var Summer school is a summer term at a school, college, or university, for example for students who need extra teaching or who want to take extra courses.
(mainly AM)
Sunday school (Sunday schools plural )Sunday school is a class organized by a church that some children go to on Sundays in order to learn about Christianity. n-var
...a Sunday School teacher.
