education
Americannoun
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educations
plural
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the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
- Synonyms:
- learning, schooling, instruction
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the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.
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a degree, level, or kind of schooling.
a university education.
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the result produced by instruction, training, or study.
to show one's education.
- Synonyms:
- enlightenment, knowledge, learning
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the science or art of teaching; pedagogics.
noun
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the act or process of acquiring knowledge, esp systematically during childhood and adolescence
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the knowledge or training acquired by this process
his education has been invaluable to him
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the act or process of imparting knowledge, esp at a school, college, or university
education is my profession
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the theory of teaching and learning
a course in education
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a particular kind of instruction or training
a university education
consumer education
Usage
What is a basic definition of education? Education is both the act of teaching knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else. Education also refers to the knowledge received through schooling or instruction and to the institution of teaching as a whole. Education has a few other senses as a noun. Education is a word that covers both the act of instructing and the act of learning. It usually refers specifically to the teaching of children or younger people and the learning done by them. Real-life examples: Elementary schools, high schools, and colleges are institutions focused on education: People are taught important information and life skills at these places. Medical schools, law schools, and driving schools provide more specialized forms of education. Used in a sentence: The proper education of children is considered important in every country. Related to this sense, education refers to the specific level or type of instruction a person has received. Used in a sentence: He has a high school education. Education also means the specific knowledge or scholarship a person has acquired from being taught. Real-life examples: Doctors have an education in medicine. Chemists have an education in chemistry. Bankers have an education in finance or economics. Used in a sentence: She has an education in languages and is fluent in French and Italian. Education is also used to refer to the process or institution of teaching in general. Real-life examples: Most teachers have college degrees in education. Nations often devote a portion of their budget to education. Used in a sentence: My brother decided to pursue a career in education.
Synonym Usage
Education, training imply a discipline and development by means of study and learning. Education is the development of the abilities of the mind (learning to know): a liberal education. Training is practical education (learning to do) or practice, usually under supervision, in some art, trade, or profession: training in art, teacher training. Education, culture are often used interchangeably to mean the results of schooling. Education, however, suggests chiefly the information acquired. Culture is a mode of thought and feeling encouraged by education. It suggests an aspiration toward, and an appreciation of high intellectual and esthetic ideals: The level of culture in a country depends upon the education of its people.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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noneducationnoun
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overeducationnoun
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preeducationnoun
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supereducationnoun
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antieducationadjective
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proeducationadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of education
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, from Latin ēducātiōn-, stem of ēducātiō “a rearing, bringing up,” literally “a leading out,” equivalent to ēducāt(us) ( see educate) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Whenever you learn something new, you are getting some amount of education. You might get your education in school, where you're learning to speak French, or in your garage, where you're learning how to repair your bike. Back in the 1500s, the word education meant "the raising of children," but it also meant "the training of animals." While there are probably a few teachers who feel like animal trainers, education these days has come to mean either "teaching" or "the process of acquiring knowledge."
Vocabulary lists containing education
Education and Academics, List 1
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"Brothers in Hope"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ion, -tion, -ation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its programs are no different from other continuing education programs that judges choose to attend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
"I feel these inconsistencies do not make a difference to education and are really blinkered."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
"I find it absurd that a woman should be forced to choose between continuing her education and leaving her child behind in Gaza," said Altomare.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The organization brings together dozens of Black churches on social justice issues, including voter education.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
In the end it may have boiled down to what the poet Robert Frost once said about a successful education: “Just hanging around until you have caught on.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Hershbein found that in the first quarter the labor-force participation rate—the share of the population either working or looking for work—averaged 75.9% for people whose educations span high school through associate degrees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
They paid off their mortgage, set aside enough money in 529 accounts to partially fund their children’s college educations, and left their corporate jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 14, 2026
Separated from the status plays and classical educations of the Northeastern blue-bloods, the wealthy have crafted a design language with all the warmth of an iPhone screen.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2025
County voters with college or graduate educations were much more likely than others to think Bass was doing a poor or very poor job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2025
And they’re hoping you’re one of the good ones who have educations with kids who start small businesses.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
