public school
- (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.
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Origin of public school
First recorded in 1570–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for public school
Contemporary Examples
Documentary king Davis Guggenheim is back with a close look at public-school teachers.
I went to this private school and he was a public-school boy, a really popular baseball player.
The oldest of three siblings, Heimbach was raised by two public-school teachers in the small town of Poolesville, Maryland.
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.
As 25,000 public-school teachers stage a walkout in Chicago, Emanuel is facing the first major trauma of his mayorship.
Historical Examples
"I don't think you know, though, that I'm a public-school man," he said.
The Market-PlaceHarold Frederic
So to Bolsover dear Benjamin goes, and becomes a public-school boy.
A Dog with a Bad NameTalbot Baines Reed
But then we should not be too severe upon the public-school graduate.
The Behavior of CrowdsEverett Dean Martin
Here the public-school meal, at the expense of the municipality, has been introduced.
Woman and SocialismAugust Bebel
He could forget the years of public-school life in the England he had left.
The Garden of SwordsMax Pemberton
public school
- (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
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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