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Synonyms

nursery school

American  

noun

  1. a prekindergarten school for children from about three to five years of age.

nursery school British  

noun

  1. a school for young children, usually from three to five years old

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nursery school

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

Schoolchildren in the town were told to commute in a group or use school buses, while nursery school preschool children refrained from playing outside.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

The town posted the image on X quickly on Wednesday morning, because the alleged sighting was near a nursery school, the official said.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

Pillion passenger Ms Engstrom, who works with nursery school children, said: "I remember being in the air, going over the barrier and landing on the road on the other side."

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

Seeing the jubilant faces “really shocked me,” said Ms. Okuno, 22, a nursery school teacher who grew up in Hiroshima and has worked as a peace and environmental activist.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2024

At nursery school, Sam and his friend Adam always dropped a lot of bombs on stuff until the teacher said, "Time Out, guys," and made them stop.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

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.