finishing school
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of finishing school
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
Young women finishing school and establishing themselves before starting families isn’t a symptom of social decay, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
Many survivors treated in childhood or young adulthood are working toward finishing school, launching careers, gaining independence, or starting families.
From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026
Museveni studied in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the 1960s when the university acted as a kind of revolutionary finishing school for anti-colonialists.
From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026
After finishing school in 2008, he moved to a college in Chandigarh, quickly immersing himself in student politics in the city.
From BBC • Oct. 15, 2024
“I may need civilized company to like you. I’ve made up my mind. It’s off to finishing school with you.”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
