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• academy
  academy

  noun

  a secondary or high school, especially a private one.
• Academy
  Academy

  noun

academy

American  

[uh-kad-uh-mee] / əˈkæd ə mi /

noun

academies plural

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.

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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

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• academies
  plural

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; see origin at Academus; see also -y ³ ( def. )

Explanation

An academy is a fancy school, often one devoted to one subject or discipline, such as music or science. You can also use academy to describe the world of higher learning. If you show unusual gifts as a clarinetist, you should consider attending the music academy in the next town. That's where you'll learn the most about your art. It's a private school, the Goodman Academy of Music, named after Benny Goodman, who was the greatest jazz clarinetist ever. If you want to use academy in its other sense, try "Those home experiments are cool, but without peer review, the academy will never accept them as science." Darn academy.

Example Sentences

Lemba played an important role in Quenda's early development before Benfica brought him into their academy system in 2017.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026

The 5,300-hectare military academy near Rennes, is a vast site which contains a patchwork of woodland and grassland similar to habitats found in the New Forest.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026

Hosted by academy chair Cris Abrego, the ceremony will be streamed live starting at 8:30 a.m. on the organization’s website, YouTube and social media channels.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026

Sources said the proposed plan calls for increasing academy class sizes before and after the Olympics and Paralympics in order to offset resignations and retirements.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026

I was only a couple of months out of the academy.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

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