public school

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.

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

Related formspub·lic-school, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for public school

Contemporary Examples of public school

Documentary king Davis Guggenheim is back with a close look at public-school teachers.
Davis Guggenheim Wants to Know, ‘What is a Teacher?’
Caitlin Dickson
September 5, 2013
I went to this private school and he was a public-school boy, a really popular baseball player.
How 10 Porn Stars Lost Their Virginity
Aurora Snow
May 7, 2013
The oldest of three siblings, Heimbach was raised by two public-school teachers in the small town of Poolesville, Maryland.
Riding Along With a Towson University Student’s ‘White Patrol’
Caitlin Dickson
April 24, 2013
When I left in 2007 to become a public-school teacher in New York City, I ultimately lost my job after blogging about my past.
Life After Sex Work
Melissa Petro
December 17, 2012
As 25,000 public-school teachers stage a walkout in Chicago, Emanuel is facing the first major trauma of his mayorship.
Rahm Emanuel Up Against a Teacher’s Strike
James Warren
September 10, 2012

Historical Examples of public school

"I don't think you know, though, that I'm a public-school man," he said.
The Market-Place
Harold Frederic
So to Bolsover dear Benjamin goes, and becomes a public-school boy.
A Dog with a Bad Name
Talbot Baines Reed
But then we should not be too severe upon the public-school graduate.
The Behavior of Crowds
Everett Dean Martin
Here the public-school meal, at the expense of the municipality, has been introduced.
Woman and Socialism
August Bebel
He could forget the years of public-school life in the England he had left.
The Garden of Swords
Max Pemberton

British Dictionary definitions for public school

public school

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