kindergarten
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kindergarten
1850–55; < German: literally, children's garden, equivalent to Kinder children ( see kind 2) + Garten garden
Explanation
Kindergarten is where children are introduced to school; it's where five year old children learn all about their ABC's and choice time. Kindergarten comes from the German words Kinder ("children") and Garten ("garden"). A garden of children is a lovely and poetic image for a classroom full of antsy kids trying their hardest to master basic skills and ideas through creative and interactive lessons. But perhaps that is just how they were seen by the 19th-century German educator Friedrich Fröbel, who is credited with inventing kindergarten, his "method of developing intelligence in young children."
Vocabulary lists containing kindergarten
August Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 7–August 13, 2021
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Words Derived from German
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The town is due to receive €1 million directly from the stimulus fund, which is “good, but not a game-changer,” given that it costs €5 million to build a Kindergarten, Hetzl said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Teachers, however, are able to monitor their children and adapt activities to encourage development in appropriate ways, said Gennie Gorback, president-elect of the California Kindergarten Assn.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
Taylor-O’Connor: We have PK, Parrot Kindergarten, and you can join with any animal, and they will coach you.
From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025
In total, 233 children from Peixin Kindergarten had high levels of lead in their blood after eating steamed red date cake and sausage corn bun.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
The BDM provided child care, or Kindergarten, for the children of mothers who worked in factories.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
