school

/skuːl//skul/

school noun: an institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.

Image: CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

school (countable and uncountable, plural schools)

(Canada, India, US) An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.
- Our children attend a public school in our neighborhood.
- Harvard University is a famous American postsecondary school.
Synonyms:

academy, college, university
(UK) An educational institution providing primary and secondary education, prior to tertiary education (college or university).
- One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools, said the report, as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to...2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016, page 1
(UK) At Eton College, a period or session of teaching.
- Divinity, history and geography are studied for two schools per week.
Within a larger educational institution, an organizational unit, such as a department or institute, which is dedicated to a specific subject area.
- We are enrolled in the same university, but I attend the School of Economics and my brother is in the School of Music.
Synonyms:

college, department, faculty, institute
An art movement, a community of artists.
- The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic movement of the time.
(considered collectively) The followers of a particular doctrine; a particular way of thinking or particular doctrine; a school of thought.
- These economists belong to the monetarist school.
- Let no man be leſſe confident in his holy faith […] by reason of any difference of judgement vvhich is in the ſeveral Schools of Chriſtians concerning the effects and conſequent bleſſings of this Sacrament.1660, Jeremy Taylor, “Of the Nature, Excellencies, Uses and Intention of the Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper. Sect[ion] V. Practical Conclusions from the Preceding Discourses.”, in The Worthy...
The time during which classes are attended or in session in an educational institution.
- I’ll see you after school.
The room or hall in English universities where the examinations for degrees and honours are held.
The canons, precepts, or body of opinion or practice, sanctioned by the authority of a particular class or age.
- He was a gentleman of the old school.
- His face pale but striking, though not handsome after the schools.1883, Arthur Sherburne Hardy, But Yet a Woman
An establishment offering specialized instruction, as for driving, cooking, typing, coding, etc.

Verb (1)

school (third-person singular simple present schools, present participle schooling, simple past and past participle schooled)

(transitive) To educate, teach, or train (often, but not necessarily, in a school).
- Many future prime ministers were schooled in Eton.
- I tooke delights / In plucking Apples from t’Heſperian Trees, / Which Eating, I grew Learn’d: adde to All theſe / My Priuate Readings, which more School’d my Soule, / Then Tutors, when they ſternliest did Controll / With Frownes or Rods: […]1620, Tho[mas] Dekker, “The Worme of Conscience”, in Dekker His Dreame. In Which, Beeing Rapt with a Poeticall Enthusiasme, the Great Volumes of Heauen and Hell to Him Were Opened, in Which He Read...
(transitive) To defeat emphatically, to teach an opponent a harsh lesson.
- A blind law graduate who put the National Conference of Bar Examiners to the test got schooled in federal court.1998 April 13, Leigh Jones, “National Bar Exam Methods Win in ADA Regulation Test”, in The Journal Record
- Two weeks later, the Cornhuskers put on their road whites again and promptly got schooled by miserable Iowa State in Ames. After the shocking loss […]2006, Steve Smith, Forever Red: Confessions of a Cornhusker Football Fan, page 67
(transitive) To control, or compose, one’s expression.
- She took care to school her expression, not giving away any of her feelings.

Noun (2)

school (plural schools)

(collective) A group of fish or a group of marine mammals such as porpoises, dolphins, or whales.
- The divers encountered a huge school of mackerel.
- Here there were concentrations of shrimp and bait fish and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them.1952 September 1, Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 28
Synonyms:

shoal
A multitude.

Verb (2)

school (third-person singular simple present schools, present participle schooling, simple past and past participle schooled)

(intransitive) To form into, or travel in, a school.
- School with other ﬁsh: you’re less likely to be eaten.
Synonyms:

shoal

school meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

school in Hindi

an institution dedicated to teaching and learning: विद्यालय vidyālay, पाठशाला pāṭhśālā, गुरुकुल gurukul, स्कूल skūl
an institution dedicated to teaching and learning before college or university: विद्यालय vidyālay, पाठशाला pāṭhśālā, गुरुकुल gurukul
college or university: महाविद्यालय mahāvidyālay, विश्वविद्यालय viśvavidyālay
a department/institute at a college or university: विभाग vibhāg

school in Tamil

an institution dedicated to teaching and learning: பள்ளி paḷḷi, பாடசாலை pāṭacālai

school in Marathi

an institution dedicated to teaching and learning: शाळा śāḷā
an institution dedicated to teaching and learning before college or university: शाळा śāḷā
college or university: महाविद्यालय mahāvidyālay

school in Urdu

an institution dedicated to teaching and learning: اِسْکُول iskūl, مَدْرَسَہ madrasa, مَکْتَب maktab, دَرْس گاہ dars gāh, تَعْلِیم گاہ ta'līm gāh, دَبِسْتان dabistān
an institution dedicated to teaching and learning before college or university: مَکْتَب maktab

More languagesFewer languages

school in Bengali: বিদ্যালয় biddaloẏ, মকতব moktob, মাদ্রাসা madraśa, পাঠশালা paṭhśala
school in Telugu: బడి baḍi, పాఠశాల pāṭhaśāla, విద్యాలయం vidyālayaṁ
school in Malayalam: വിദ്യാലയം vidyālayaṁ, പള്ളിക്കൂടം paḷḷikkūṭaṁ, സ്കൂൾ skūḷ
school in Kannada: ಶಾಲೆ śāle, ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ vidyālaya
school in Punjabi: ਮਦਰੱਸਾ madrasā, ਸਕੂਲ sakūl, سکول pnb, یونیورسٹی pnb
school in Gujarati: નિશાળ niśāḷ, વિદ્યાલય vidyālya, સ્કૂલ skūl
school in Odia: ବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ bidyāḷaya
school in Sanskrit: विद्यालय vidyālaya
school in Sinhala: ඉස්කෝලය iskōlaya, පාසැල pāsæla
school in Assamese: পঢ়াশালি porhaxali, স্কুল skul, বিদ্যালয় biddaloy, ছাতৰশালি satorxali
school in Nepali: इस्कुल iskul
school in Pashto: ښوونځی xowanjai, مدرسه madrasa, مکتب maktáb
school in Tagalog: eskuwelahan, paaralan, pamantasan, pakultad
school in Arabic: مَدْرَسَة madrasa, مَكْتَب maktab, مدرسة madrasa, كُلِّيَّة kulliyya
school in Malay: sekolah, maktab, madrasah, kolej
school in Indonesian: sekolah, universitas, fakultas, departemen
school in Persian: مَدْرَسَه madrasa, مَکْتَب maktab, دَبِسْتَان dabistān, مَدْرِسِه madrese
school in Thai: โรงเรียน roong-riian, วิทยาลัย wít-tá-yaa-lai
school in Vietnamese: trường, trường học, trường phái, đại học
school in Myanmar: ကျောင်း kyaung:, တက္ကသိုလ် takka.suil
Sindhi: اِسڪوُلُ iskūlu, اسڪول iskūlu, ڪاليج kālej
Dhivehi: ސްކޫލު skūlu

Examples of school in a sentence

Just one more tardy and you'll be staying after school.
Parents fear sending their children to school.2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, archived from the original on 05 Mar...
Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
Harris said he was confident he could go toe to toe with any skeptic; he bragged that he’d recently schooled some crypto haters from Vice News.2022 March 31, David Yaffe-Bellany, “Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

All 40 example sentences with school

Synonyms of school

All synonyms of school

Forms of school

Noun
plural	schools
alternative form (obsolete)	schole
alternative form (obsolete)	skull
Verb
third-person singular present	schools
present participle	schooling
past participle	schooled
past	schooled

Past tense of school: schooled

Plural of school: schools

Origin of school

From Middle English scole, from Old English scōl (“place of education”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, from Late Latin schola, scola (“learned discussion or dissertation, lecture, school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold, have, possess”). Doublet of schola and shul. Compare Old Frisian skūle, schūle (“school”) (West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule), Dutch school (“school”), Low German School (“school”), Old High German scuola (“school”), German Schule (“school”), Old Norse skóli (“school”). Influenced in some senses by Middle English schole (“group of persons, host, company”), from Middle Dutch scole (“multitude, troop, band”). See school (“group”). Related also to Old High German sigi (German Sieg, “victory”), Old English siġe, sigor (“victory”).

From Middle English scole, schole (“group of persons, multitude, host, school of fish”), from Middle Dutch scole (“multitude, troop of people, swarm of animals”), from Old Dutch *scola, *skola (“troop, multitude”), from Proto-West Germanic *skulu (“troop, group”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷel- (“crowd, people”). Cognate with Middle Low German schōle (“multitude, troop”), Old English scolu (“troop or band of people, host, multitude, school of fish”). Doublet of shoal.

Words formed from school

Phrases with school

142 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with school

42 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about school

What does school mean?: School means an institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.
What is school in Hindi?: School in Hindi is विद्यालय (vidyālay), पाठशाला (pāṭhśālā), गुरुकुल (gurukul). See School meaning in Hindi.
How do you use school in a sentence?: Just one more tardy and you'll be staying after school.
What part of speech is school?: School can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce school?: School is pronounced /skuːl/ (UK).
What is the plural of school?: The plural of school is schools.

Words near school in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: school (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-school.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-school.wav.

Cite this entry: “school.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/school. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.