tuition

American  

[too-ish-uhn, tyoo-] / tuˈɪʃ ən, tju- /

noun

• tuitions
  plural

1. the charge or fee for instruction, as at a private school or a college or university.

   The college will raise its tuition again next year.

2. teaching or instruction, as of pupils.

   a school offering private tuition in languages.

3. Archaic. guardianship or custody.

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tuition British  

/ tjuːˈɪʃən /

noun

1. instruction, esp that received in a small group or individually

2. the payment for instruction, esp in colleges or universities

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-tuition
  noun
• tuitional
  adjective
• tuitionary
  adjective
• tuitionless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tuitions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tuition

1250–1300; Middle English tuicion a looking after, guarding < Latin tuitiōn- (stem of tuitiō ), equivalent to tuit ( us ) (past participle of tuērī to watch; cf. tutelage) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

Tuition is a fee paid for instruction or teaching, usually for higher education. Many students need to get part-time jobs to pay their college tuition. The word tuition comes from the Anglo-French word tuycioun, meaning "protection, care, custody." Some people say college protects you from the "real world," at least while you are in school, but tuition is a reality all students face. Tuition can describe any payment made for instruction, however, even for a knitting class. That tuition can probably be covered without student loans or scholarships, though.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tuition tuitions

Typically, to commit to a school, a student pays a nonrefundable deposit of a few hundred dollars, later credited toward tuition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Current and prospective students in England take out Plan 5 loans to pay for their tuition fees and living costs.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

To reduce melt, the school is tapping faculty to engage with students during the summer, increasing student-to-student conversations for commits, and introducing free tuition for qualifying students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The state pays for 15 hours per week and provides parents about $6,000 in tuition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

My father had simply run out of money to pay tuition, joining the Army instead.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

After younger boomers finished college, access to government student loans expanded, tuitions rose and loan balances soared.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

As tuitions rose, people had trouble making their loan payments.

From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024

The program allows businesses to receive tax credits on donations that go toward the private and religious school tuitions of mostly low-income students.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 12, 2023

It’s one piece of the department’s effort to increase accountability among the institutions whose tuitions are paid by federal student loans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2023

Think of the tuitions for Montessori and music lessons.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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