school

¹ American  

[skool] / skul /

noun

1. an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age.

   The children are at school.

2. an institution for instruction in a particular skill or field.

3. a college or university.

4. a regular course of meetings of a teacher or teachers and students for instruction; program of instruction.

   summer school.

5. a session of such a course.

   no school today; to be kept after school.

6. the activity or process of learning under instruction, especially at a school for the young.

   As a child, I never liked school.

7. one's formal education.

   They plan to be married when he finishes school.

8. a building housing a school.

9. the body of students, or students and teachers, belonging to an educational institution.

   The entire school rose when the principal entered the auditorium.

10. a building, room, etc., in a university, set apart for the use of one of the faculties or for some particular purpose.

    the school of agriculture.

11. a particular faculty or department of a university having the right to recommend candidates for degrees, and usually beginning its program of instruction after the student has completed general education.

    medical school.

12. any place, situation, etc., tending to teach anything.

13. the body of pupils or followers of a master, system, method, etc..

    the Platonic school of philosophy.

14. Art.

    1. a group of artists, as painters, writers, or musicians, whose works reflect a common conceptual, regional, or personal influence.

       the modern school; the Florentine school.

    2. the art and artists of a geographical location considered independently of stylistic similarity.

       the French school.

15. any group of persons having common attitudes or beliefs.

16. Military, Navy. parts of close-order drill applying to the individual school of the soldier, the squad school of the squad, or the like.

17. Australian and New Zealand Informal. a group of people gathered together, especially for gambling or drinking.

18. Archaic. schools, the faculties of a university.

19. Obsolete. the schoolmen in a medieval university.

---

adjective

1. of or connected with a school or schools.

2. Obsolete. of the schoolmen.

verb (used with object)

1. to educate in or as if in a school; teach; train.

2. Archaic. to reprimand.

idioms

1. school of thought. school of thought.

2. school of hard knocks. school of hard knocks.

school ² American  

[skool] / skul /

noun

1. a large number of fish, porpoises, whales, or the like, feeding or migrating together.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to form into, or go in, a school, as fish.

school ¹ British  

/ skuːl /

noun

1. 1. an institution or building at which children and young people usually under 19 receive education

   2. ( as modifier )

      school bus

      school day

   3. ( in combination )

      schoolroom

      schoolwork

2. any educational institution or building

3. a faculty, institution, or department specializing in a particular subject

   a law school

4. the staff and pupils of a school

5. the period of instruction in a school or one session of this

   he stayed after school to do extra work

6. meetings held occasionally for members of a profession, etc

7. a place or sphere of activity that instructs

   the school of hard knocks

8. a body of people or pupils adhering to a certain set of principles, doctrines, or methods

9. a group of artists, writers, etc, linked by the same style, teachers, or aims

   the Venetian school of painting

10. a style of life

    a gentleman of the old school

11. informal a group assembled for a common purpose, esp gambling or drinking

---

verb

1. to train or educate in or as in a school

2. to discipline or control

3. an archaic word for reprimand

school ² British  

/ skuːl /

noun

1. a group of porpoises or similar aquatic animals that swim together

---

verb

1. (intr) to form such a group

school More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing school

• tell tales (out of school)

---

Other Word Forms

• schoolable adjective
• schoolless adjective
• schoollike adjective

Etymology

Origin of school¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun scol(e), schole, Old English scōl, scolu, from Latin schola, from Greek scholḗ “leisure employed in learning”

Origin of school²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English schol(e), sculle, from Middle Dutch schōle “flock (of animals),” Dutch school “shoal (of fish)”; cognate with Old English scolu “troop”; shoal ²

Example Sentences

Don’t miss: ‘We track our finances religiously’: Are we obliged to pay for our daughter’s medical school?

From MarketWatch

It’s 2026 and the bullies have taken over the school, but justice is still being done on television.

From Los Angeles Times

The governor will announce that the state would set a record on per-student funding in public schools and fully fund universal transitional kindergarten under his budget proposal.

From Los Angeles Times

The other evaluates applicants using a comprehensive review process — including special talents, how a student compares with peers in their high school, and geographic location — in addition to grades and coursework.

From Los Angeles Times

"Pretty much until the end of secondary school, I didn't have any interest in the track. My entire running sphere revolved around cross country," Keith, 23, told BBC Sport.

From BBC

Related Words

• academy
• department
• faculty
• hall
• institute
• institution
• seminary
• university