private school

American  

noun

• private schools
  plural

1. a school founded, conducted, and maintained by a private group rather than by the government, usually charging tuition and often following a particular philosophy, viewpoint, etc.

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private school British  

noun

1. a school under the financial and managerial control of a private body or charitable trust, accepting mostly fee-paying pupils

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• private schools
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of private school

First recorded in 1820–30

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private school

This year, it looked like the private school, which has about 910 students, was on track to meet its enrollment goals before it lost about 40 students at the start of August.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Their expansion comes amid tighter market conditions in China and the introduction of VAT on private school fees in Britain from 1 January 2025.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Evans attended Francis Parker School, an exclusive private school in San Diego, before graduating from MIT with a degree in economics in 2015.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

With that, we had created a private school.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

“Not everyone who goes to private school is rich. Especially not the poor kids who can play basketball.”

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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Related Words

• parochial school
• preparatory school

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