plural schoolyards
: the area next to or surrounding a school where students typically play games or sports
He organized a marbles tournament that could take place only in the schoolyard during recess.—Jerry Spinelli
… there was a schoolboyish quality to the way he did it—as if he were trying to show that he was the biggest, toughest boy in the schoolyard.—Elizabeth Drew
—often used before another noun
schoolyard games
a schoolyard bully

Examples of schoolyard 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.
Through schoolyard rivalries, neighborhood hustles, and family setbacks, Kev turns every disaster into a story. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026 The friend and my father took my older sister and me out for a walk, and, at a nearby schoolyard, the man hung the camera on an exercise bar. — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026 Like Dillane’s Willoughby, wily and louche, who quite literally sweeps Marianne off her injured foot and into a giggly, schoolyard kind of chaotic sudden romance. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026 At another school nearby, girls were lined up in the schoolyard and told that anyone above sixth grade could no longer come to class. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for schoolyard

Word History

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of schoolyard was in 1586

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Schoolyard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schoolyard. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

schoolyard

noun
school·​yard
-ˌyärd
: the playground of a school
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