education

noun ed·u·ca·tion \ ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shən \

Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of education

1 a : the action or process of educating or of being educated; also : a stage of such a process

b : the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process

a person of little education

2 : the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools

—

educational

play \ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

—

educationally

play \ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shnəl-ē, -shə-nᵊl-\ adverb

See education defined for English-language learners

See education defined for kids

Examples of education in a Sentence

The school is devoted to the education of children with reading difficulties.
She received her education at private schools.
The applicants had comparable educations.
She earned her master's degree in education.

Recent Examples of education from the Web

The Club continues to collect medical equipment, can tabs, books and magazines, manufacturers cut coupons, eyeglasses and cases and boxtops for education.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Manchester Edition," 15 May 2018
Fête will be a house party turned charity event at the former Kresge estate in the Boston Edison neighborhood to raise money for arts education at Detroit Cristo Rey High School in southwest Detroit.

— ryan patrick hooper, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Art Week launches hoping to draw attention to city's art scene," 10 May 2018
Students have called for more education, including mandatory anti-bias classes.

— refinery29.com, "A Black Yale Student Was Reported To Campus Police For Napping In Her Dorm," 9 May 2018
In the years prior to publishing the book, Frost had taken to lecturing about astronomy at mechanics institutes, establishments set up for the education of artisans and other workmen.

— courtesy david rumsey map collection, National Geographic, "How an Obscure Religious Sect Mapped the Cosmos," 8 May 2018
An outspoken Nigerian senator offered West a trip to several/any/all the slave ports on the continent for an education on slavery and the slave trade.

— angela helm, The Root, "Nigerian Lawmaker Offers Kanye a Trip to Africa to Help Him Gather His Senses on Slavery," 5 May 2018
Patience, meanwhile, ached for the education she had been promised.

— susan snyder, Philly.com, "Dickinson College president opens doors to former captives of terrorist group, and it's not the first time," 18 May 2018
The demand in China for education in the West, and the ease with which wealthier Chinese can secure it, has been a boon for many educational establishments.

— The Economist, "A formative experienceFor China’s elite, studying abroad is de rigueur," 17 May 2018
Leaders of the Arizona movement are gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to tax the wealthy and use the extra money to pay for education.

— melissa daniels, BostonGlobe.com, "Teachers who led strikes now turning focus to elections," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'education.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of education

1531

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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education Synonyms

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

EDUCATION Defined for English Language Learners

education

noun

Definition of education for English Language Learners

: the action or process of teaching someone especially in a school, college, or university
: the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college, or university
: a field of study that deals with the methods and problems of teaching