afterschool

American  

[af-ter-skool, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌskul, ˈɑf- /

Or after-school

adjective

1. for students and taking place after they finish their day in school, usually in the late afternoon.

   He’s looking for an afterschool job.

   Is there afterschool tutoring in math?

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Usage

What does afterschool mean? Afterschool describes something for students that takes place after their schooling is done for the day. Afterschool can describe just about anything that takes place after a school day ends. At school, students might attend afterschool care when they’re too young to be home alone. They might belong to afterschool clubs, which have meetings at the end of the school day, such as a robotics club or a drama club. Students could play afterschool sports, being part of a team that practices and has games outside of school hours. Students might also do things away from school that happen immediately after the end of school or only take place outside of school hours, such as an afterschool job or an afterschool program not held at the school.Afterschool is most often used in reference to students who are teens or younger and attend nursery school, primary school, or secondary school. Afterschool can also be spelled after-school. After school is used to indicate a time later than school hours, as in Tanya walked home with her friends after school and then promptly did her homework.Example: Leoni had to stay in afterschool care every day when they were young because their parents worked late.

Etymology

Origin of afterschool

First recorded in 1905–10; after ( def. ) + school ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

This should be a teachable moment, the adulting equivalent of an afterschool special.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 26, 2025

In Orange County, Anaheim Ballet did not receive its $10,000 NEA grant to support Step-Up!, an afterschool program that provides free dance classes to youth.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2025

They agreed to let her have Instagram for her afterschool activities, which they found ironic and frustrating.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024

Once a week, we'd faithfully do an afterschool trip there so they could stock up on picture books and YA lit — and I could grab the latest big, expensive bestseller cookbook.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2023

His father taught psychology at the University of Chicago; his mother ran an afterschool program for forty years, without pay, in a poor neighborhood.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt