education

noun ed·u·ca·tion \ ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shən \

Updated on: 12 Apr 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

Local candidates came to the convention to speak to the delegates, stressing themes of justice, economic growth and education.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Area Democrats meet to elect delegates to state convention," 9 Apr. 2018
Sappho represents wisdom and education of other women; the Amazons represent strength and communal society; the Primordial Goddess stands for the creative force and art; and Elizabeth R. symbolizes the possibilities of female power.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Now You Too Can Eat Off of Judy Chicago’s Famous Feminist Dinnerware," 9 Apr. 2018
And Senate Majority PAC, the top Dem Senate Super PAC, hits Scott for his record as governor, including education cuts and property-tax increases.

— mark murray, NBC News, "Democrats are blasting Rick Scott with digital ads," 9 Apr. 2018
The head of the Conference of Ministers of Education, Helmut Holter, also rejected the idea, adding that there should instead be a greater focus on strengthening democratic education at schools.

— deutsche welle, USA TODAY, "German teachers' association backs headscarf ban for under-14s," 9 Apr. 2018
The Oklahoma Policy Institute extrapolated that out to the proportion education typically receives.

— alvin chang, Vox, "How tax cuts for the rich led to the Oklahoma teachers strike," 9 Apr. 2018
Microsoft has clearly focused on learning and education with this smart mat prototype, and the toys and games aspect could work well in schools if it’s ever released.

— tom warren, The Verge, "Microsoft’s smart mat project could blend Lego and Minecraft together," 9 Apr. 2018
For those in the continent from oral-based, spoken language (non-literate) communities with little formal education, these platforms can be inaccessible.

— chris giles, CNN, "Why Mali has its own homegrown version of Facebook," 9 Apr. 2018
Throughout this time, John continued his education nights ending with his Masters from Rensselaer P.I. John continued his support of the Military through his lifetime memberships in the VFW, AmVets and the American Legion.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "John C. Bonville," 8 Apr. 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