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

Etymology

Origin of public school

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public school

Public records show there are tens of thousands of public school pupils in the city, which is in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

In America’s poorest congressional district, an immaculate $245 million K-12 public school is welcoming about 2,400 students this month, with a mission to get them all into college.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

If approved, the state would have a constitutional mandate to provide free lunches and breakfasts for all K-12 public school students.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

One will weigh whether to require the SAT, ACT or the Smarter Balanced test that California gives public school students.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The public school has to farm them out to Lelia because it doesn’t have enough staff.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee