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school year

school year

79 1.0
The time of year when schools are open and have classes
  • noun
  • /skuːl jɪr/
translation icon : curso escolar
  • At the end of the school year, many students participate in graduation ceremonies.
  • beginning of the school year
  • end of the school year
  • during the school year

Growth is most often at its maximum at the beginning of each school year and tapers off towards spring.

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Examples

  • The school year begins in September when students return to classes after summer break.

  • I had earned the reputation, by the end of that school year, of being a well-behaved slow learner.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • This will be the best school year of your life.

  • We all wish you a happy school year and we wish you stick around.

  • - The school year ends in a week.

  • The loan's due at the end of the school year.

  • The program was implemented over one school year by mental health professionals in collaboration with school teachers.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I've never had students so eager to start the school year.

  • In the 2008-2009 school year, the program served 214 students across 30 schools.

    Academic text (2011)
  • After a long school year, students look forward to their summer vacation.

Synonyms

academic year
vsschool year
11 2.3

The period each year when schools or universities hold classes

is the same period but used more for younger education
school term
vsschool year
1 1.0

A period when a school has regular classes

refers to the whole annual cycle rather than one short period
academic term
vsschool year
2.7

A period when a school or university holds classes

applies to the full annual period rather than a single unit
academic session
vsschool year
3.5

The period when classes are held at a school or university

is used for the entire annual period rather than a component

Antonyms

1.0

A period away from work or study for rest and travel

How Long

school year
79 1.0
term
5.8
semester
283 1.5

Surface Forms

school year singular
school years plural

Morphology

school + year

The meaning 'the period of the year during which schools are open' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'school' (an educational institution) with 'year' (an annual period). This straightforward noun-noun compounding follows common semantic composition patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

School year comes from the simple idea of a school and a year put together: it is the part of the year when classes run. So, it means 'the period when schools are open and regular classes are held'.