high school

US/ˈhaɪ.skul/US[ˈhɐɪsku̟ɫ]/ˈhʌɪskul/

noun

An institution which provides all or part of secondary education.

Similar
senior high schoolsenior highhighhighschool
OriginMiddle English hyȝ scole →
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Meanings

nounhigh school (countable and uncountable, plural high schools)

plural high schools · alternative proscribed highschool · alternative high-school · alternative HS

  1. countableuncountableeducationAn institution which provides all or part of secondary education.
  2. AustraliaCanadaScotlandUScountableuncountableA secondary school.
  3. PhilippinescountableuncountableA secondary education school, consisting of junior high school and senior high school (grades 7-12)
  4. PhilippinescountablehistoricaluncountableA secondary education school for years 1-4 (now junior high school)

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna public secondary school usually including grades 9 through 12

Similar
senior high schoolsenior highhighhighschool
Broader
secondary schoollyceumlycee
Also see
highsecondary schoolsenior high school

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishhyȝ scole“school for higher education”
  2. Englishhigh school

Inherited from Middle English hyȝ scole (“school for higher education”). Cognate with Dutch hogeschool (“academy, university, graduate school”), German Hochschule (“academy, college, university”). By surface analysis, high + school.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans hoërskool
  • hoërskoolsecondary school
Arabic مَدْرَسَة ثَانَوِيَّة
  • مَدْرَسَة ثَانَوِيَّة (madrasa ṯānawiyya)secondary school
Bulgarian гимназия, средно училище
  • гимназия (gimnazija)secondary school
  • средно училище (sredno učilište)secondary school
  • средно (sredno)secondary school
Chinese Mandarin 高級中學 /高级中学, 高中
  • 高級中學 /高级中学 (gāojí zhōngxué)secondary school
  • 高中 (gāozhōng)secondary school
  • 中學 /中学 (zhōngxué)secondary school
Czech střední škola
  • střední školasecondary school
Danish gymnasium
  • gymnasiumsecondary school
Dutch middelbare school
  • middelbare schoolsecondary school
Esperanto gimnazio, mezlernejo
  • gimnaziosecondary school
  • mezlernejosecondary school
  • liceosecondary school
Estonian keskkool, gümnaasium
  • keskkoolsecondary school
  • gümnaasiumsecondary school
Finnish lukio
  • lukiosecondary school
French école secondaire, lycée
  • école secondairesecondary school
  • lycéesecondary school
  • collègesecondary school
German Oberschule, Mittelschule
  • Oberschulesecondary school
  • Mittelschulesecondary school
Greek γυμνάσιο, λύκειο
  • γυμνάσιο (gymnásio)secondary school
  • λύκειο (lýkeio)secondary school
Hebrew בֵּית סֵפֶר תִּיכוֹן
  • בֵּית סֵפֶר תִּיכוֹן (bēt séfer tichón)secondary school
Hungarian középiskola, gimnázium
  • középiskolasecondary school
  • gimnáziumsecondary school
Icelandic menntaskóli
  • menntaskólisecondary school
Indonesian sekolah menengah, sekolah menengah atas
  • sekolah menengahsecondary school
  • sekolah menengah atassecondary school
  • sekolah menengah umumsecondary school
Irish ardscoil
  • ardscoilsecondary school
Italian liceo, ginnasio
  • liceosecondary school
  • ginnasiosecondary school
  • liceo scientificosecondary school
  • liceo classicosecondary school
Japanese 高校, 高等学校
  • 高校 (kōkō)secondary school
  • 高等学校 (kōtō gakkō)secondary school
Korean 고등학교
  • 고등학교 (godeunghakgyo)secondary school
Lithuanian gimnazija
  • gimnazijasecondary school
Malay sekolah tinggi, sekolah menengah
  • sekolah tinggisecondary school
  • sekolah menengahsecondary school
Norwegian Bokmål videregående skole
  • videregående skolesecondary school
Norwegian Nynorsk vidaregåande skole, vidaregåande skule
  • vidaregåande skolesecondary school
  • vidaregåande skulesecondary school
Persian دبیرستان, لیسه
  • دبیرستان (dabirestân)secondary school
  • لیسه (lise)secondary school
Polish szkoła średnia
  • szkoła średniasecondary school
Portuguese ensino médio, secundário
  • ensino médiosecondary school
  • secundáriosecondary school
  • secundáriasecondary school
  • liceusecondary school
Romanian liceu, școală secundară
  • liceusecondary school
  • școală secundarăsecondary school
  • gimnaziusecondary school
  • școală mediesecondary school
Russian сре́дняя шко́ла
  • сре́дняя шко́ла (srédnjaja škóla)secondary school
Scottish Gaelic àrd-sgoil
  • àrd-sgoilsecondary school
Slovak stredná škola
  • stredná školasecondary school
Spanish secundaria, preparatoria
  • secundariasecondary school
  • preparatoriasecondary school
  • bachilleratosecondary school
Swedish high school, gymnasie
  • high schoolsecondary school
  • gymnasiesecondary school
  • gymnasieskolasecondary school
Tagalog hay-iskul, hayskul
  • hay-iskulsecondary school
  • hayskulsecondary school
Thai ไฮสกูล
  • ไฮสกูล (hai-sàgoon)secondary school
Turkish lise
  • lisesecondary school
Vietnamese trường trung học phổ thông
  • trường trung học phổ thôngsecondary school
Yiddish מיטלשול, גימנאַזיע
  • מיטלשול (mitlshul)secondary school
  • גימנאַזיע (gimnazye)secondary school
  • הײַסקול (hayskul)secondary school
Cite this entry
APA

high school. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20school

MLA

“high school.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20school. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “high school,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/high%20school.

Source: high school on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.