school year

American  

noun

school years plural

1. the months of the year during which school is open and attendance at school is required.

2. academic year.

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school year British  

noun

1. a twelve-month period, (in Britain) usually starting in late summer and continuing for three terms until the following summer, during which pupils remain in the same class

2. the time during this period when the school is open

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• school years
  plural

Etymology

Origin of school year

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

school year

Unified officials quietly added $30 million to the elementary school arts budget for the 2024-25 school year amid ongoing accusations from Beutner, union leaders and parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Little Rock parents appear to be doing the same; enrollment declined from 20,786 at the outset of wide-scale restorative-justice implementation to 18,964 this past school year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

At the Los Angeles Unified School District high school where I teach, this exact type of “adjustment” is happening for the 2026-2027 school year because of declining enrollment.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Harriet thinks thought needs to be given to the way the school year is structured.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Placed in special-ed program in fifth grade, dropped outta school entirely halfway through school year.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña