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Synonyms

boarding school

American  
[bawr-ding skool] / ˈbɔr dɪŋ ˌskul /

noun

  1. a school at which the students receive board and lodging during the school term (distinguished from day school).

boarding school British  

noun

  1. a school providing living accommodation for some or all of its pupils

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of boarding school

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 1938, Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee, and then attended Brown University, but was expelled before graduating.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 1938, Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee, and then attended Brown University, but was expelled before graduating.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Our protagonist comes from a nondescript family, attends a minor boarding school, falls in love with Oxford, enlists in the British army and is transformed forever by a trip to North Africa.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

McLean's world changed when he moved to boarding school in Chester aged 11.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

“This is a boarding school, and the boys are from the capital. Not a single parent has made it here since the attack started.”

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.