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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.

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

He conceived the social experiment based on a combination of his curiosity about people, the influence of “Lord of the Flies” and “Robinson Crusoe,” and his boarding school experience.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

"It's like a state-sponsored boarding school where they systematically foster football players."

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Pratt was sent to a federal boarding school, at St. Patrick’s Mission in Anadarko, Okla. Unlike many other indigenous children of his generation, Pratt regarded his time there positively.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

“You know Principal Piles wants Zane to go to boarding school next year?”

From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff

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.