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Glite Dictionary
preparatory school

preparatory school

1 3.7
A private school that helps students get ready for university or college
  • noun
  • /prɪˈpɛrəˌtɔri skuːl/
translation icon : escuela preparatoria
  • Sherwood is a private preparatory school with a very high rating.
  • college preparatory school
  • preparatory school students

And Dalton is one of the most exclusive preparatory schools in the world.

Examples

  • Dominican is a Catholic college-preparatory school of approximately four hundred students.

    Academic text (2003)

  • At 13, he enrolled in the Lakeside School, an exclusive preparatory school.

    Blog text (16)

  • And Dalton is one of the most exclusive preparatory schools in the world.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • Athens Academy, an independent college preparatory school, is a good place to explore technological enhancements of the curriculum.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Armbrister is currently president of Philadelphia's Girard College, an independent college preparatory school for students from economically disadvantaged families.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Between the ages of ten and eighteen, Jozsi attended the Theresianum, a well-known preparatory school for high-born Austrian boys.

    Academic text (1991)

  • There are more than 1,000 preparatory schools in the country that specialize in college admissions.

  • Sherwood is a prestigious preparatory school known for its high academic standards.

  • The school is now a co-educational, preparatory school which prepares students for college.

Synonyms

prep
vspreparatory school
  • Informal
68 5.2

A private secondary school or a student who attends it

is only the school sense and not the person who attends it
prep school
vspreparatory school
31 3.5

A private school that prepares students for college or top secondary schools

is used more broadly for certain private secondary schools rather than only college preparation

How Preparatory

preparatory school
1 3.7
secondary school
  • US
15 2.0

Surface Forms

preparatory school singular
preparatory schools plural

Morphology

preparatory + school

The meaning 'a school that prepares students' is directly and compositionally derived from 'preparatory' (serving as a preparation) + 'school' (an educational institution). This adjective+noun pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will generally understand the MWE, though specific institutional connotations (e.g. private/selective use) may require extra context.

Etymology

Preparatory school comes from schools whose main job was to prepare children for entrance exams and university. So the phrase now means a school often private that helps students 'get ready' for further study.