kindergarten

noun

kin·​der·​gar·​ten ˈkin-dər-ˌgär-tᵊn How to pronounce kindergarten (audio)
ˈkin-də-,
-dᵊn
plural kindergartens
: a school or class for children usually from five to six years old

Examples of kindergarten in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Here are a few other proposals in the new Biden budget: Create a new program for families earning less than $200,000 that would guarantee affordable child care from birth until kindergarten. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 Mar. 2024 When schools shut down, Abrego, then a stay-at-home mom, suddenly became her kindergarten boys’ home school teacher. Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2024 Each week, kindergarten through 12th graders log into their student portals, either through their phones or school computers, and click on the Sown to Grow platform. Hannah Poukish, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2024 Born in Jerusalem in 1979 to a father who was a painter and a mother who was a kindergarten principal, Nachum grew up painting. Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 But my daughter also lived through a global pandemic and as a result, didn’t finish preschool and started kindergarten in a weird half-day/half-remote setup. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024 Ciske has a second-grader in the district and another child who will enter kindergarten in the fall. Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024 In a nearby kindergarten classroom, teacher Gretchen Shimer announces another iteration of phonemic awareness, or an understanding of speech sounds. Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024 So the actors in the kindergarten classrooms are actually 5-year-olds, and most 5-year-olds struggle with sitting still from take to take. Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kindergarten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

German, from Kinder children + Garten garden

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kindergarten was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near kindergarten

Cite this Entry

“Kindergarten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kindergarten. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

kindergarten

noun
kin·​der·​gar·​ten ˈkin-də(r)-ˌgärt-ᵊn How to pronounce kindergarten (audio)
-ˌgärd-
: a school or class for very young children
Etymology

from German kindergarten "a school for very young children," from kinder "children" and garten "garden"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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