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
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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:
Those priorities soon changed, however, and he was playing organized soccer before he entered kindergarten, then joined CF Montreal’s youth academy before he entered high school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
There are five immunizations required as a condition of entry into kindergarten in California: polio; DTaP, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; hepatitis B; MMR; and varicella, or chickenpox.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
A quarter century later, Amundson, now a 39-year-old travel agent and former kindergarten teacher, received a call from her 13-year-old neighbor.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
In Elektrostal, an empty kindergarten was also hit, without any casualties, added Vorobyov.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Mama says I always liked words; that I was talking before I could walk, and reading and writing before I even got to kindergarten.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
"Prolonged air-raid alerts affect not only people's safety, but also the operation of businesses, logistics, transportation, schools, kindergartens," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Crimeans say basic services like kindergartens, trash collection and ATMs have stopped functioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
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
Planter boxes filled with microbially rich soil could be introduced at kindergartens, schools and, for example, hospitals, especially in densely built urban areas.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 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.
