middle school

noun

Synonyms of middle schoolnext
: a school usually including grades five to eight or six to eight
middle schooler
-ˌskü-lər How to pronounce middle school (audio)
noun

Examples of middle school in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Eric Hanson, who grew up in Sacramento, and his wife were living several years ago across the street from a Napa Valley middle school. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2026 Students at a Pennsylvania high school spoke out Friday after their district suspended all high school and middle school sports amid an investigation. — Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 The district later developed plans for programs at five middle schools. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 And the board heard updates from staff on efforts to improve reading and math performance in district middle schools. — Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for middle school

Word History

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of middle school was in 1870

Rhymes for middle school

See All Rhymes for middle school

Browse Nearby Words

Middlesbrough
middle school
Middle Scots
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Middle school.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle%20school. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

middle school

noun
: a school usually including grades 5 to 8 or 6 to 8

More from Merriam-Webster on middle school

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for middle school

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All