public school

American  

noun

• public schools
  plural

1. (in the U.S.) a school that is maintained at public expense for the education of the children of a community or district and that constitutes a part of a system of free public education commonly including primary and secondary schools.

2. (in England) any of a number of endowed secondary boarding schools that prepare students chiefly for the universities or for public service.

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public school British  

noun

1. (in England and Wales) a private independent fee-paying secondary school

2. (in the US) any school that is part of a free local educational system

3. in certin Canadian provinces, a public elementray school as distinguished from a separate school

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• public-school
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• public schools
  plural

Etymology

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public school

Researchers examined three types of preschool environments that children attended before entering elementary school: public school pre-K, center-based daycare programs, and home-based childcare providers participating in the Early Learning Coalition.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

From public defenders to college professors to public school teachers, people who were fired for social media comments about Kirk have received more than $5 million so far, paid for by taxpayers.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

But it’s also the school year, with every public school in the state open and parents already ferrying their children back and forth each day.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Four-year college costs vary: roughly $124,000 for an in-state public university, $204,000 for an out-of-state public school and $262,000 for a private university.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

She wanted us to go to a public school called Emerson.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls