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Synonyms

secondary school

American  

noun

  1. a high school or a school of corresponding grade, ranking between a primary school and a college or university.

secondary school British  

noun

  1. a school for young people, usually between the ages of 11 and 18

"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 Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of secondary school

First recorded in 1825–35

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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.

Her daughter Jennifer walks to her secondary school.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

The secondary school was briefly placed on lockdown before the pursuit continued.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Parents living on an island say their children's secondary school placement means they will spend more than 10 hours a week travelling by bus to get there.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

He went to secondary school in the wealthy bourgeois 16th arrondissement of Paris, where he said he felt an uncomfortable outsider, and later attended the elite ENA administration school.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Sharp, the word everyone used to describe Emenike in secondary school.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.