secondary school

American  

noun

secondary schools plural

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

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secondary school British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• secondary-school
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• secondary schools
  plural

Etymology

Origin of secondary school

First recorded in 1825–35

Compare meaning

How does secondary-school compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• secondary school vs. high school

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secondary school

Georgia and Jake met on the first day of secondary school and were friends, but only started dating after Jake returned from the US.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Amen, who was originally from Eritrea, lived with his father in Glasgow and attended St Thomas Aquinas secondary school in Jordanhill.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Parents celebrated a decision to halt the "mothballing" of any secondary school in the region in 2024.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

However, he said his confidence started to improve when he attended secondary school, thanking teachers at St David's College, Llandudno.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Some of them had been married, far older, fathers to children in secondary school.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• high school
• junior high school
• middle school
• prep school
• preparatory school
• senior high school