eleven plus

noun

An examination formerly administered to all students in their final year of primary education, now used only in a few counties of England and Northern Ireland.

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Meanings

nouneleven plus (plural eleven pluses)

plural eleven pluses · alternative 11 plus · alternative 11+

  1. UKAn examination formerly administered to all students in their final year of primary education, now used only in a few counties of England and Northern Ireland.

    The fact that late developers emerged, ripe for grammar school education, having 'failed' the eleven plus test, was embarrassing.

    1967, Robert John Montgomery, Examinations: An Account of Their Evolution as Administrative Devices in England
    1 more example

    As one vociferous eleven-plus critic put it, when Winston Churchill was a boy he produced nothing more than "a large blob of ink" on his entrance exam.

    2007, Stephen Murdoch, IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
11-plus examination

Origin

From eleven + plus, eleven years being the minimum age of students taking the test.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eleven plus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eleven%20plus

MLA

“eleven plus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eleven%20plus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eleven plus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eleven%20plus.

Source: eleven plus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.