public school

American  

noun

1. (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.

2. (in England) any of a number of endowed secondary boarding schools that prepare students chiefly for the universities or for public service.

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public school British  

noun

1. (in England and Wales) a private independent fee-paying secondary school

2. (in the US) any school that is part of a free local educational system

3. in certin Canadian provinces, a public elementray school as distinguished from a separate school

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Other Word Forms

• public-school adjective

Etymology

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

Their campus has long been the pride of the Palisades, a public school with a strong enrollment that draws students from nearby neighborhoods and a wide swath of Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

Phones are now banned in California public school classrooms.

From Los Angeles Times

Like all parents, I want the best schools — public schools — possible, and I want them to be fair.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than discarding public schools or educator accountability, the rest of America should adopt a model that has been proven to work.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pelley even noted their evasiveness before suggesting that their organization intentionally misrepresents outliers — such as when books intended for high school students accidentally land on elementary school shelves — to produce skewed narratives of public schools.

From Salon