reform school
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of reform school
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The actor stars alongside Tracey Ullman and Emily Watson in a film that follows the weary employees and difficult students of an English reform school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys follows the powerful friendship between two men navigating a brutal reform school together in Florida.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2024
Keep in mind I had worked in a reform school for girls!
From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2024
Tick’s research provides new details on Fitzgerald’s early life growing up in Yonkers, including the shattering death of her mother and a year spent in reform school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
The judge will rule against sending Alex to a reform school.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
