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preparatory school

American  

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.

preparatory school British  

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

"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 preparatory school

First recorded in 1815–25

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.

Zion Preparatory school for a postgraduate season after he received no Division I offers coming out of high school.

From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2020

A choir from the Jesuit-run Brophy College Preparatory school that McCain’s sons Jack and Jimmy attended will sing “Amazing Grace” and “Arizona.”

From Washington Times • Aug. 30, 2018

The £19,000-a-year Notting Hill Preparatory school has begun fitting £5,000 air filters to each of its classrooms, and who can blame it.

From The Guardian • Jun. 3, 2018

Fosite Ndahayo, a fourth-grader at Uplift Luna Preparatory school, visited the hall during a press preview Thursday.

From Washington Times • May 11, 2018

At the end of the inning the game stood three runs in favor of the Preparatory school.

From The Heroes of the School or, The Darewell Chums Through Thick and Thin by Chapman, Allen

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.