public school

American

noun

(in the U.S.) a school that is maintained at public expense for the education of the children of a community or district and that constitutes a part of a system of free public education commonly including primary and secondary schools.
(in England) any of a number of endowed secondary boarding schools that prepare students chiefly for the universities or for public service.

public school British

noun

(in England and Wales) a private independent fee-paying secondary school
(in the US) any school that is part of a free local educational system
in certin Canadian provinces, a public elementray school as distinguished from a separate 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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

public-school

adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

public schools

plural

Etymology

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

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.

See Examples For:

public school

When a public school kid gains similar attention, it makes him a community hero for life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Public records show there are tens of thousands of public school pupils in the city, which is in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Even the police chief of the public school system weighed in.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

In the U.S., elite youth soccer isn’t played through public school teams like football or basketball.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Mama and Baba think I’m old enough to go to a big public school.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023