lycée
Americannoun
-
lycées
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lycée
1860–65; < French < Latin lycēum lyceum
Explanation
A lycee is a high school, particularly one where French is spoken. Before you enroll at the Sorbonne, you need to graduate from your lycee! In France, the lycee (or in French, lycée) is the final part of a student's secondary, pre-college education. Generally this means grades 9 through 12, or the equivalent of high school in the U.S. If you attend an American lycee, it is usually a French immersion school, or one that mixes the use of English and French. Lycee derives from the Greek lykeion, an ancient Athenian grove where Aristotle taught.
Vocabulary lists containing lycee
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:
"It goes beyond having decent toilets in schools," lycée student Alcidor says in Paris, under the statue of Marianne at Place de la République, a place synonymous with protest.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Her father is an engineer; her feminist mother marches in demonstrations against the shah; Marji, an only child, attends French lycée.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
He was sent away by his parents to a prestigious lycée in Paris, but the relationship continued and the pair married when he was 30.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 17, 2017
The choice of track is also not entirely up to the students; the head of their lycée, or high school, has the final say.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2014
Explain how the terms college, lycée, gymnasium, academy, and grammar school all came to be employed, in different countries, to designate about the same type of secondary school.
From The History of Education; educational practice and progress considered as a phase of the development and spread of western civilization by Ellwood Patterson Cubberley
The teens at French high schools, known as lycées, say that their studies are being ruined by high teacher absences, overlong school days and dilapidated facilities, as well as other grievances.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
The movement at French lycées, equivalent to sixth form in the UK or high school in the US, began last week in the Île-de-France region around Paris.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Secondary schools and lycées in green areas will be able to resume all classes from 2 June, but must follow health measures, such a maximum of 15 pupils per class.
From The Guardian ● May 28, 2020
Ms. Stern said she attended one of the lycées created by Napoleon.
From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2015
Unlike most graduates of lycées or private schools, he had preserved a vivid memory of his college and of his masters.
From Against the Grain by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
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