yeshiva
Americannoun
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an Orthodox Jewish school for the religious and secular education of children of elementary school age.
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an Orthodox Jewish school of higher instruction in Jewish learning, chiefly for students preparing to enter the rabbinate.
noun
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a traditional Jewish school devoted chiefly to the study of rabbinic literature and the Talmud
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a school run by Orthodox Jews for children of primary school age, providing both religious and secular instruction
Etymology
Origin of yeshiva
1925–30; < Hebrew (post-Biblical) yəshībhāh literally, a sitting
Explanation
A yeshiva is a Jewish school or college where students study religious texts. It used to be that only boys attended yeshivas, but today many of them are co-educational. Yeshivas have existed in various forms for thousands of years and are very important to Judaism. Yeshiva students study the Talmud and the Torah, as well as other religious books, and often take additional nonreligious classes. The scholarship at these schools varies between Orthodox and non-Orthodox branches, as well as between age groups. The word yeshiva comes from the Hebrew yesibah, "academy," or literally "a sitting."
Vocabulary lists containing yeshiva
The Devil's Arithmetic
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The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
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A Light in the Darkness
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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.
A few weeks later, when the nuns returned to the same spot, they were approached by students from the same yeshiva.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Since the State of Israel was declared in 1948, students enrolled full-time at a religious school, or yeshiva, have been exempted from conscription.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Three families live in tarpaulin-covered shelters full of bunk beds for some 50 young men, who study in a yeshiva that is a shabby prefab structure surrounded by abandoned toys, building materials and garbage.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2024
The fallout at his yeshiva is both hilarious and touching.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
In spite of having the sunless complexion and slight build of a yeshiva student, Sender clung onto the cord as tenaciously as a terrier, even going so far as to bare his teeth.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
