prep school

American  

noun

1. preparatory school.

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prep school British  

noun

1. informal See preparatory school

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Etymology

Origin of prep school

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Foster attended a French-language prep school in Los Angeles as a child, meaning she attained fluency with much more ease and access than many Americans are afforded.

From Salon

Both, said the colleague, “really liked the night school crowd over the prep school crowd.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Schlossberg’s résumé bears many of the hallmarks of elite status: tony New York prep school, Yale undergraduate degree, joint business and law degree from Harvard.

From The Wall Street Journal

Stokes arrived last season from a Northern California prep school and helped the Knights reach the Southern Section Open Division championship game and the Southern California Regional final.

From Los Angeles Times

When he was a child, his aunt and uncle accidentally enrolled him in a Baptist boarding school in Kentucky, thinking it was a prestigious prep school.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• high school
• junior high school
• middle school
• preparatory school
• senior high school