preschool
Americanadjective
noun
-
preschools
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of preschool
Explanation
A preschool is a school for kids too young for kindergarten. In preschool, your teacher will still help you tie your shoes and stick your straw into your juice box. You can use the word preschool for the actual building where three year olds attend school, or for the program there. It's also an adjective for talking about preschool teachers, preschool students, or preschool funding in your town. Preschool has been used since the late 1800s, and it's also commonly called pre-K or nursery school.
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.
See Examples For:
And the policy is connected to the important state interests of protecting children from discriminatory barriers to publicly funded preschool education.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
The state voters had approved a ballot measure in 2020 to provide public funding for a year of preschool prior to kindergarten.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
"The only thing Colorado asks is that they comply with the same conditions that every publicly funded preschool must meet, religious and secular alike," Norton said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
The Colorado program, launched in 2023, pays for 15 hours of preschool a week, about $6,300 a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
He still has stuff taped up that I did in preschool.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
Thousands of Colorado preschools, including dozens of religious schools, signed the state’s nondiscrimination agreement.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
He and Barrett said same-sex couples did not seek to have their children enrolled in Catholic preschools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Colorado welcomes religious preschools to the funding program, Helen Norton, the state's deputy solicitor general, told the court.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
With the future of government backing unclear, she froze hiring for a postdoctoral researcher and warned partner preschools that her timeline was uncertain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The preschools would fill up with strange ring-eyed children.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
