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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

See Examples For:

academy Academy academies

A day later Cardiff Rugby academy players found the tub while doing volunteering work, and handed it to park officials.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Writing on Facebook, the academy described it as an "additional and unexpected team building exercise".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

There are further links between City's academy and Chelsea.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

By contrast, Alonso is only likely to have three permanent members of his senior squad who came through Chelsea's Cobham academy: Levi Colwill, who played in that defeat, captain Reece James and defender Josh Acheampong.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

“A large campus just doesn’t work for me anymore, and a flexible schedule makes therapy easier to work in. At an academy I would always be missing school. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

She studied tennis at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

"We are witnessing an avoidable crisis that disproportionally hurts children," said Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Academy sold some of its refund rights early, before the high court’s ruling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

“Sinners” and “Weapons” proved ambitious horror can indeed sway the Academy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours I had the disturbing sensation that I was melting, and a second later, I opened my eyes at the Academy.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

First, MLS has spent millions of dollars in recent years building world-class soccer academies for young players, programs that mirror the best of their European counterparts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

"Morocco created a blueprint of how it can be done, which is years and years of investing in grassroot football and academies," former Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong told BBC Sport Africa this month.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

What’s it like to attend the U.S. military academies when military culture is upended?

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

This is bad news for youth leagues, which improve communities and promote a healthy lifestyle, and for American professional teams, which rely on youth academies to create talent pipelines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

“It is a highly regarded school for individuals with special needs. They have academies all over the country.”

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

Related Words

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