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school of thought

American  
[skool uhv thawt] / ˈskul əv ˈθɔt /

noun

  1. a unifying philosophy or particular point of view with a group of adherents.

    One school of thought in international diplomacy values cultural exchange as highly as the traditional diplomatic work.

Etymology

Origin of school of thought

First recorded in 1825–30

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.

There’s also a technical school of thought that “overbought” is more of an ability than a condition, meaning that the ability to become overbought is a sign of underlying strength.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026

Warsh wants to see a return of monetarism, a school of thought that holds that increases in the money supply can drive inflation.

From Barron's • Oct. 8, 2025

Far from being an object of ridicule, Chelsea’s high-volume approach to squad-building is now evolving into its own school of thought.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 11, 2025

As in men's football, there is still a school of thought that penalties are a lottery and practice can never make perfect.

From BBC • Jul. 20, 2025

He was a member of the Eleatic school of thought, whose founder, Parmenides, held that the underlying nature of the universe was changeless and immobile.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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.