Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

high school

American  

noun

  • high schools
    plural
  1. a school attended after elementary school or junior high school and usually consisting of grades 9 or 10 through 12.


high school British  

noun

  1. another term for grammar school

  2. a secondary school from grade 7 to grade 12

  3. a secondary school, the grades covered depending on the province

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of high school

First recorded in 1815–25

Compare meaning

How does high-school compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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.

See Examples For:

Gillis is a former offensive lineman from central Pennsylvania who was recruited out of his Catholic high school to play football at West Point—where he immediately realized he didn’t belong and left.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 14, 2026

Mello appeared as the snobby high school student Chandler in the 1999 romantic hit, which also featured Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook.

From MarketWatch Aug. 13, 2026

Does “Don’t Say Good Luck” skirt around the grim realities of cancer as cavalierly as it paints a Pinterest mood-board vision of high school?

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 13, 2026

“I have so much knowledge and things built up that I just want to give to these kids,” Derek Carr said of his interest in coaching in high school and college.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 12, 2026

I’d be real glad to see her back in town for high school.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training