education

American  

[ej-oo-kay-shuhn] / ˌɛdʒ ʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• educations
  plural

1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

   Synonyms:

   learning, schooling, instruction

2. the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.

3. a degree, level, or kind of schooling.

   a university education.

4. the result produced by instruction, training, or study.

   to show one's education.

   Synonyms:

   enlightenment, knowledge, learning

5. the science or art of teaching; pedagogics.

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education British  

/ ˌɛdjʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of acquiring knowledge, esp systematically during childhood and adolescence

2. the knowledge or training acquired by this process

   his education has been invaluable to him

3. the act or process of imparting knowledge, esp at a school, college, or university

   education is my profession

4. the theory of teaching and learning

   a course in education

5. a particular kind of instruction or training

   a university education

   consumer education

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Usage

What is a basic definition of education? Education is both the act of teaching knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else. Education also refers to the knowledge received through schooling or instruction and to the institution of teaching as a whole. Education has a few other senses as a noun. Education is a word that covers both the act of instructing and the act of learning. It usually refers specifically to the teaching of children or younger people and the learning done by them. Real-life examples: Elementary schools, high schools, and colleges are institutions focused on education: People are taught important information and life skills at these places. Medical schools, law schools, and driving schools provide more specialized forms of education. Used in a sentence: The proper education of children is considered important in every country. Related to this sense, education refers to the specific level or type of instruction a person has received. Used in a sentence: He has a high school education. Education also means the specific knowledge or scholarship a person has acquired from being taught. Real-life examples: Doctors have an education in medicine. Chemists have an education in chemistry. Bankers have an education in finance or economics. Used in a sentence: She has an education in languages and is fluent in French and Italian. Education is also used to refer to the process or institution of teaching in general. Real-life examples: Most teachers have college degrees in education. Nations often devote a portion of their budget to education. Used in a sentence: My brother decided to pursue a career in education.

Synonym Usage

Education, training imply a discipline and development by means of study and learning. Education is the development of the abilities of the mind (learning to know): a liberal education. Training is practical education (learning to do) or practice, usually under supervision, in some art, trade, or profession: training in art, teacher training. Education, culture are often used interchangeably to mean the results of schooling. Education, however, suggests chiefly the information acquired. Culture is a mode of thought and feeling encouraged by education. It suggests an aspiration toward, and an appreciation of high intellectual and esthetic ideals: The level of culture in a country depends upon the education of its people.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noneducation
  noun
• overeducation
  noun
• preeducation
  noun
• supereducation
  noun
• antieducation
  adjective
• proeducation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• educations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of education

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, from Latin ēducātiōn-, stem of ēducātiō “a rearing, bringing up,” literally “a leading out,” equivalent to ēducāt(us) ( see educate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Whenever you learn something new, you are getting some amount of education. You might get your education in school, where you're learning to speak French, or in your garage, where you're learning how to repair your bike. Back in the 1500s, the word education meant "the raising of children," but it also meant "the training of animals." While there are probably a few teachers who feel like animal trainers, education these days has come to mean either "teaching" or "the process of acquiring knowledge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

education educations

There was a brief spell in the army and then a short course in physical education in America.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

They dug into the results for “occupations where we absolutely need them in society,” but where “we know the earnings are really low,” like education and social work, Velez said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

"Clearly, this poses a risk to both our staff and our students," he alleged, adding that 78 education staff members had been wounded -- "something we have never seen before."

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

The UAW claims to represent more than 120,000 workers in higher education, largely graduate students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

As much as I valued education and was experiencing the benefits of mine, I didn’t want my girls’ lives to be endangered.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Now, though, just as job hunters without degrees are having one of their best runs, those with college educations are having one of their worst.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Increasingly, parents are draining money from retirement accounts and home equity to pay for their children’s educations.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Experts and couples interviewed by AFP spoke of a combination of factors, including longer educations and growing professional ambitions among women, along with rising divorce rates and financial strain on young professionals.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has revoked the school's license permanently, and said that students' educations would continue through online learning options or transfers to other institutions – especially for orphaned students.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

At my mother’s insistence, she, too, began school; the burden of financing both our educations rested entirely on my mother, even though my father tried to help from time to time.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• culture
• discipline
• improvement
• information
• learning
• literacy
• scholarship
• schooling
• science
• study
• teaching
• training