tuition
Americannoun
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tuitions
plural
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the charge or fee for instruction, as at a private school or a college or university.
The college will raise its tuition again next year.
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teaching or instruction, as of pupils.
a school offering private tuition in languages.
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Archaic. guardianship or custody.
noun
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instruction, esp that received in a small group or individually
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the payment for instruction, esp in colleges or universities
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tuition
1250–1300; Middle English tuicion a looking after, guarding < Latin tuitiōn- (stem of tuitiō ), equivalent to tuit ( us ) (past participle of tuērī to watch; cf. tutelage) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Tuition is a fee paid for instruction or teaching, usually for higher education. Many students need to get part-time jobs to pay their college tuition. The word tuition comes from the Anglo-French word tuycioun, meaning "protection, care, custody." Some people say college protects you from the "real world," at least while you are in school, but tuition is a reality all students face. Tuition can describe any payment made for instruction, however, even for a knitting class. That tuition can probably be covered without student loans or scholarships, though.
Vocabulary lists containing tuition
Nothing But the Truth
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The Distance Between Us
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Education and Academics, List 1
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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:
When older parents look ahead to the looming price tag of their child’s tuition, it’s daunting.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Through the sovereign-wealth fund, which comprises numerous smaller funds, officials have funneled more money into schools and college tuition, as well as a recently launched, first-of-its-kind statewide universal child-care program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Campuses have attempted to make up for the losses by giving more seats to the group that pays full nonresident tuition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Now about 30 states have some version of a program that allows families to spend public money on private school tuition.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Free tuition for faculty kids, she reminded us.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
After younger boomers finished college, access to government student loans expanded, tuitions rose and loan balances soared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The timing is especially fortuitous, with two daughters in college and hefty tuitions to pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
As tuitions rose, people had trouble making their loan payments.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
The program allows businesses to receive tax credits on donations that go toward the private and religious school tuitions of mostly low-income students.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 12, 2023
It was well known that absent students were punished with higher tuitions the following term.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
