academy

American  

[uh-kad-uh-mee] / əˈkæd ə mi /

noun

plural

academies

1. a secondary or high school, especially a private one.

   My daughter goes to a very exclusive academy in Chicago.

2. a school or college for special instruction or training in a subject.

   a military academy.

3. an association or institution for the advancement of art, literature, or science.

   the National Academy of Arts and Letters.

4. a group of authorities and leaders in a field of scholarship, art, etc., who are often permitted to dictate standards, prescribe methods, and criticize new ideas.

5. the Academy,

   1. the Platonic school of philosophy or its adherents.

   2. academe.

   3. French Academy.

   4. Royal Academy.

   5. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

---

Academy ¹ British  

/ əˈkædəmɪ /

noun

1. 1. the grove or garden near Athens where Plato taught in the late 4th century _bc

   2. the school of philosophy founded by Plato

   3. the members of this school and their successors

2. short for the French Academy Royal Academy

---

academy ² British  

/ əˈkædəmɪ /

noun

1. an institution or society for the advancement of literature, art, or science

2. a school for training in a particular skill or profession

   a military academy

3. a secondary school: now used only as part of a name, and often denoting a private school

---

Etymology

Origin of academy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English achademye, achadomye, from Latin Acadēmīa, the name of the public gymnasium near Athens, sacred to the hero Academus, where Plato established his school of philosophy; from Greek Akadēmía, variant of Akadḗmeia, noun use of feminine adjective Akadḗmeios, derivative of Akádēm(os) + -eia adjective suffix; Academus; -y ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

But she said councils only have powers to force some schools to take children on, and those powers do not extend to academies - which make up 82% of all secondary schools in the UK.

From BBC

“The training does not stop after graduation from the academy. Recruits are put on a rigorous on-the-job training program that is tracked and monitored.”

From Los Angeles Times

In 2014, graduated from a police academy in New York and was sworn in as a deputy sheriff for the Department of Public Safety.

From BBC

He paid about $20,000 for his son, a straight-A student, to repeat a grade at a private middle school sports academy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mark: When you watch the academy and you're watching the under-age teams as well... is the pipeline - and I'm not putting pressure on them - but is the academy in good health?

From BBC

Related Words

• boarding school
• institute
• prep school
• secondary school
• seminary