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school

¹

[ skool ]

/ skul /

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See synonyms for: school / schooled / schooling on Thesaurus.com

noun

an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.

an institution for instruction in a particular skill or field.

a college or university.

a regular course of meetings of a teacher or teachers and students for instruction; program of instruction: summer school.

a session of such a course: no school today; to be kept after school.

the activity or process of learning under instruction, especially at a school for the young: As a child, I never liked school.

one's formal education: They plan to be married when he finishes school.

a building housing a school.

the body of students, or students and teachers, belonging to an educational institution: The entire school rose when the principal entered the auditorium.

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.

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.

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

the body of pupils or followers of a master, system, method, etc.: the Platonic school of philosophy.

Art.

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.
the art and artists of a geographical location considered independently of stylistic similarity: the French school.

any group of persons having common attitudes or beliefs.

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

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

schools, Archaic. the faculties of a university.

Obsolete. the schoolmen in a medieval university.

adjective

of or connected with a school or schools.

Obsolete. of the schoolmen.

verb (used with object)

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

Archaic. to reprimand.

VIDEO FOR SCHOOL

Help Students Prepare For Back-To-School With These Questions

This teacher gets real tired of saying the same words over and over. So, she came up with these helpful lists of synonyms to encourage just a little amount of participation during that time of year she calls the back-to-school blues.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

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Idioms about school

school of hard knocks. See entry at school of hard knocks.

school of thought. See entry at school of thought.

Origin of school

¹

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

OTHER WORDS FROM school

school·a·ble, adjectiveschool·less, adjectiveschool·like, adjective

Words nearby school

Schöne Müllerin, Die, Schongauer, Schönlein, Schönlein-Henoch purpura, Schönlein's disease, school, school age, school attendance officer, schoolbag, school board, schoolbook

Other definitions for school (2 of 2)

school²

[ skool ]

/ skul /

noun

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

verb (used without object)

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

Origin of school

²

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”; see shoal²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use school in a sentence

They are great at expanding access, allowing teachers and schools to reach more students than ever before.
Why hasn’t digital learning lived up to its promise?|Walter Thompson|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
Once the class had started, the school should have committed to letting the students finish what they started, they both said.
Morning Report: Lincoln Abruptly Canceled AP Class|Voice of San Diego|September 17, 2020|Voice of San Diego
All school reopening plans could depend on whether San Diego County ends up back on the state monitoring watch list.
North County Report: Schools Are Reopening for Students Most in Need|Kayla Jimenez|September 16, 2020|Voice of San Diego
I ran that comment by LaWana Richmond, who is running for school board to represent the subdistrict that includes Lincoln High.
When a Calculus Class Abruptly Became Ceramics at Lincoln High|Scott Lewis|September 16, 2020|Voice of San Diego

The school also pledged to try to make it work in the fourth quarter of the year after it recruited more students in the meantime.
When a Calculus Class Abruptly Became Ceramics at Lincoln High|Scott Lewis|September 16, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A passing off-duty school safety officer named Fred Lucas said that he had been told the man was a drug dealer.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And then I did teachers all throughout elementary school and junior high for my friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Author J.K. Rowling says all religions are present at her beloved wizard school—except Wiccans.
Harry Potter and the Torah of Terror|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One was a Quaker school, whose name he can no longer recall, in upstate New York.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
All my musical studies till now have been a mere going to school, a preparation for him.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
I ask for half a dozen projectors or so in every school, and for a well-stocked storehouse of films.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He was the most distinguished representative of the English school of composition, and was knighted in 1842.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Y was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
The child who has got languages from its governess, therefore, marks time—that is to say, wastes time in these subjects at school.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for school (1 of 2)

school¹

/ (skuːl) /

noun

an institution or building at which children and young people usually under 19 receive education
(as modifier)school bus; school day
(in combination)schoolroom; schoolwork

any educational institution or building

a faculty, institution, or department specializing in a particular subjecta law school

the staff and pupils of a school

the period of instruction in a school or one session of thishe stayed after school to do extra work

meetings held occasionally for members of a profession, etc

a place or sphere of activity that instructsthe school of hard knocks

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

a group of artists, writers, etc, linked by the same style, teachers, or aimsthe Venetian school of painting

a style of lifea gentleman of the old school

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

verb (tr)

to train or educate in or as in a school

to discipline or control

an archaic word for reprimand

Word Origin for school

Old English scōl, from Latin schola school, from Greek skholē leisure spent in the pursuit of knowledge

British Dictionary definitions for school (2 of 2)

school²

/ (skuːl) /

noun

a group of porpoises or similar aquatic animals that swim together

verb

(intr) to form such a group

Word Origin for school

Old English scolu shoal ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with school

school

In addition to the idiom beginning with school

school of hard knocks

also see:

tell tales (out of school)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.