public school

American  

noun

• public schools
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• public-school
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• public schools
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public school

The government confiscated the property in the 1970s and converted it into a public school, until a court ruling returned it to the community in 1992, according to Tamimi.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Halfway into my junior year, my schoolwork suffered and I dropped out and attended Staples High, a public school, in Westport, Conn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

On the outskirts of Chandigarh city in India's north-western Punjab state, a 473-year-old legacy British public school opened its first all-girls international campus earlier this year.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Arizona State University is a public school with several primary campuses in the Phoenix area, coupled with a massive component that operates online.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

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