kindergarten
Americannoun
-
kindergartens
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of kindergarten
1850–55; < German: literally, children's garden, equivalent to Kinder children ( see kind 2) + Garten garden
Explanation
Kindergarten is where children are introduced to school; it's where five year old children learn all about their ABC's and choice time. Kindergarten comes from the German words Kinder ("children") and Garten ("garden"). A garden of children is a lovely and poetic image for a classroom full of antsy kids trying their hardest to master basic skills and ideas through creative and interactive lessons. But perhaps that is just how they were seen by the 19th-century German educator Friedrich Fröbel, who is credited with inventing kindergarten, his "method of developing intelligence in young children."
Vocabulary lists containing kindergarten
August Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 7–August 13, 2021
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Words Derived from German
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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:
Dinowitz and Krishnan are also calling for the city to ban gamified learning apps, eliminate individual digital devices for kindergarten through fifth grade and move back to paper and pencil for standardized tests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
While vaccination rates in Ohio have fallen, Cleveland is making improvements — rates for children entering kindergarten there have jumped from 68 percent a few years ago to 76 percent this past school year.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
This year, Oklahoma doubled its requirement for elementary students to 40 minutes of recess a day, while Pennsylvania recently began requiring 30 minutes for students in full-day kindergarten through fifth grade.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
What it needs is a single-minded focus on preparing kids for kindergarten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
But Lucy and Isla and Delia were my friends since kindergarten.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Authorities also waived fees for public kindergartens beginning last fall.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
Zohran Mamdani promises policies along such lines: a rent freeze, free buses, free kindergartens, etc.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
Getting vaccinated against hepatitis A has never been required as a condition of entry to California’s kindergartens or child-care centers, however.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2025
She used the knowledge she had gained teaching at kindergartens in Germany to make education enjoyable and approachable for her students.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024
Their son’s application to several kindergartens met with quick rejections, unaccompanied by explanations.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
