afterschool

American  

[af-ter-skool, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌskul, ˈɑf- /

Or after-school

adjective

1. for students and taking place after they finish their day in school, usually in the late afternoon.

   He’s looking for an afterschool job.

   Is there afterschool tutoring in math?

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Usage

What does afterschool mean? Afterschool describes something for students that takes place after their schooling is done for the day. Afterschool can describe just about anything that takes place after a school day ends. At school, students might attend afterschool care when they’re too young to be home alone. They might belong to afterschool clubs, which have meetings at the end of the school day, such as a robotics club or a drama club. Students could play afterschool sports, being part of a team that practices and has games outside of school hours. Students might also do things away from school that happen immediately after the end of school or only take place outside of school hours, such as an afterschool job or an afterschool program not held at the school. Afterschool is most often used in reference to students who are teens or younger and attend nursery school, primary school, or secondary school. Afterschool can also be spelled after-school. After school is used to indicate a time later than school hours, as in Tanya walked home with her friends after school and then promptly did her homework. Example: Leoni had to stay in afterschool care every day when they were young because their parents worked late.

Etymology

Origin of afterschool

First recorded in 1905–10; after ( def. ) + school ¹ ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

afterschool

A glossy video was shown during the event, with people speaking to and naming animated versions of their "dots," then giving them various tasks, like building a website and booking afterschool activities for their children.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Pinball, for the author, was a way of “killing time,” an antidote to boredom as interminable afterschool afternoons stretched out before him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

But the afterschool special vibes bring a kind of unexpected coziness that manages to be both heartfelt and surreal, fostering a sense of serenity and camaraderie that is rib-tickling in all the right ways.

From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025

For years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has teamed up with its Beyond the Bell afterschool program to enable middle schools students to have a variety of sports experiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025

El would never let me forget that I’d ruined our afterschool job plans by taking the position at Harpy’s.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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