school
1an 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.
of or connected with a school or schools.
Obsolete. of the schoolmen.
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
1Other words from school
- school·a·ble, adjective
- school·less, adjective
- school·like, adjective
Words Nearby school
Other definitions for school (2 of 2)
a large number of fish, porpoises, whales, or the like, feeding or migrating together.
to form into, or go in, a school, as fish.
Origin of school
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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 | TechCrunchOnce 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 DiegoAll 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 DiegoI 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 DiegoThe 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 | THE DAILY BEASTA passing off-duty school safety officer named Fred Lucas said that he had been told the man was a drug dealer.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTAuthor J.K. Rowling says all religions are present at her beloved wizard school—except Wiccans.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTAll my musical studies till now have been a mere going to school, a preparation for him.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayI 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) WellsHe 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 MunsellY was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.
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)
/ (skuːl) /
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 subject: a law school
the staff and pupils of a school
the period of instruction in a school or one session of this: he stayed after school to do extra work
meetings held occasionally for members of a profession, etc
a place or sphere of activity that instructs: the 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 aims: the Venetian school of painting
a style of life: a gentleman of the old school
informal a group assembled for a common purpose, esp gambling or drinking
to train or educate in or as in a school
to discipline or control
an archaic word for reprimand
Origin of school
1British Dictionary definitions for school (2 of 2)
/ (skuːl) /
a group of porpoises or similar aquatic animals that swim together
(intr) to form such a group
Origin of school
2Collins 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
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.
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