preschool
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of preschool
Explanation
A preschool is a school for kids too young for kindergarten. In preschool, your teacher will still help you tie your shoes and stick your straw into your juice box. You can use the word preschool for the actual building where three year olds attend school, or for the program there. It's also an adjective for talking about preschool teachers, preschool students, or preschool funding in your town. Preschool has been used since the late 1800s, and it's also commonly called pre-K or nursery school.
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.
Until now, Rodarte has relied on a scholarship from the local La Casita Preschool for her five-year-old granddaughter, Nova, to attend three days a week.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
Anya Eckert, director of La Casita Preschool in Santa Fe, is worried the state’s reimbursement rates might not match what her business charges for part-time care, which is in high demand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
Craigslea Community Kindergarten and Preschool in Brisbane closed last month after funding was halted amid an investigation into claims about its governance.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025
As soon as the evacuation orders were lifted last week, Danielle Svihovec went back to assess damage at her Woodbury Preschool Village in Altadena, a cluster of cottages she opened 37 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2025
Preschool in three cultures—Japan, China, and the United States.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
