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preparatory school

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noun
  1. a private or parochial secondary school, especially one boarding its students and providing a college-preparatory education.
  2. British. a private elementary school, especially one preparing its students for public school.
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Origin of preparatory school

First recorded in 1815–25
Also called prep school.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for preparatory school

Historical Examples

  • One year I passed in the preparatory-school of the missionary-house, and four years in the seminary itself.

    Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ

    Rev. A. Bernstein, B.D.

British Dictionary definitions for preparatory school

preparatory school

noun
  1. (in Britain) a private school, usually single-sex and for children between the ages of 6 and 13, generally preparing pupils for public school
  2. (in the US) a private secondary school preparing pupils for college
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Often shortened to: prep school
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