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

The four public school districts that were testing his Star Academy program, which promises to turn around the performance of struggling middle-school students, had stopped using it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

In 1980, justices struck down a law virtually identical to Texas’, forbidding states from placing the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

She and her husband, a UPS driver, are grateful for the free public school option.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Benjamas, a public school teacher, is especially worried about her four-year-old son, who started getting nosebleeds last year.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

He would be Mrs. McCormick, their public school principal, pressing his lips together until they almost disappeared, fluttering his eyelids.

From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte