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Synonyms

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.


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

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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.

See Examples For:

Reading gains were modest in elementary school and nearly zero in secondary school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

The new suits were filed by people who witnessed the shooting at the town’s secondary school, including Deidre Rushlow, a seventh-grade teacher who sheltered students under her desk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Parents of older children may not realise a so-called baby bank can help them, but many of the 400 support hubs across the UK provide uniforms for children up to and through secondary school.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The Social Security department said it had approved 2,552 payments for 1,450 primary school pupils and 1,102 secondary school pupils for the start of the upcoming term.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“The iniquitously expensive and secretive British secondary school my sister and I attended. My father thought we were too young to be sent abroad, but he was determined that we be as European as possible.”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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