elementary school

noun

Definition of elementary schoolnext
as in secondary school

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of elementary school Liz and her brother were pulled out of elementary school, because students were about to read Harry Potter books, which involve stories of wizardry. — Felice J. Freyer, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026 Earlier this year, a Waymo hit a child who ran into the road near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, causing minor injuries. — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026 In exchange for running the elementary school from Messiah Lutheran at 613 S Main St, the Independence School District is paying for $350,000 in repairs at the church, focused mostly on replacing the uneven and eroded parking lot. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026 In a few weeks, ground will be broken on a new elementary school being built on Elgin’s northeast side. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for elementary school
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elementary school
  1. secondary school
  2. primary school
  3. high school
  4. public school
  5. junior high school
  6. grammar school
  7. middle school
  8. senior high school
Noun
  • The ban has been in place long enough that an entire cohort of girls has passed through adolescence without stepping foot in a secondary school classroom.
    — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • In 2014, Boko Haram took almost three hundred girls from a secondary school in Chibok; the whereabouts of some ninety are still unknown.
    — Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of secondary school
Noun
  • The group’s harsh interpretation of Islamic rule excludes girls and women, who make up half of Afghanistan’s estimated 50 million people, from any meaningful education or employment opportunity, beyond primary school.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Years earlier, Luwi had fought to change the name of his children’s primary school to Gajdusek Memorial Community School.
    — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of primary school
Noun
  • Erika looks on with the malevolent bemusement of a college cheerleader coming back to homecoming to judge her old high school squad.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • In 2021, a teen was arrested after wounding two students and injuring two others in a shooting at a high school in Newport News, Virginia.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of high school
Noun
  • Over the past year, Winters led AI training for over 7,000 teachers, almost a third of Utah’s public school instructors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The curriculum—a first for the local public school system—was also a bid to control communal loyalties in Hawaii, which the United States had annexed in 1898.
    — H.M.A. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of public school
Noun
  • Becerra was quiet and serious when Franco first met him in junior high school, but slowly warmed up to other students.
    — Ben Paviour August 17, Sacbee.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • So the Sephora Performance Center might as well be a junior high school gym.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of junior high school
Noun
  • Lowden and Smith were grammar school classmates and later served time together in Wethersfield.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026
  • Can states ban transgender kids from playing sports in grammar school, when boys and girls routinely play on the same teams?
    — Nina Totenberg, NPR, 30 June 2026
Definition of grammar school
Noun
  • More than 30 high and middle school students in the Ferndale Public Schools district earned hands-on experience, and for some, wages, as part of the district's Drone Apprenticeship Program.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The West Ada School District seeks to make 90% of the day for elementary students and 80% of the day for middle school students screen-free.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of middle school
Noun
  • This would be required for elementary, junior and senior high schools.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 2026
  • Yet running in a pro race in Europe after that senior high school season in 2004, Rupp came up more than 36 seconds off of Chapa’s time.
    — Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Definition of senior high school

Browse Nearby Words

elementary
elementary school
elementary schools
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Elementary school.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elementary%20school. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on elementary school

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about elementary school

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of devolve

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All