finishing school

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of finishing school

: a private school for girls that emphasizes cultural studies and prepares students especially for social activities

See finishing school defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of finishing school from the Web

As a level, Triple A is more of a holding place for veterans and fringe big leaguers than a finishing school for legitimate prospects.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Three Players Limiting the Cubs, Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s Eruption and Ohtani's Filthy Splitter," 29 May 2018
Experts and advocates say those who marry young are less likely to finish school and are vulnerable to abuse.

— talia kirkland, Fox News, "After Delaware raises marriage age to 18, some wonder if other states will follow suit," 25 May 2018
Marie, who is 27 and asked not to be identified by her full name, got sober, finished school and landed a job at Recovery Point.

— NBC News, "Women addicted to opioids turn to sex work in West Virginia," 30 Apr. 2018
Here are some key things to know about Mount Ida: History: Mount Ida was founded in 1899 as a girls finishing school by George Franklin Jewett and Abigail Faye Jewett.

— margeaux sippell, BostonGlobe.com, "Some key facts about Mount Ida College," 11 Apr. 2018
People that really know me try to tell me to finish school.

— greg moore, azcentral, "Moore: How will ASU's 'NFL model' affect star wide receiver N'Keal Harry?," 21 Mar. 2018
While the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has long employed dogs who sniff for drugs and explosives, police didn’t have a cadaver dog until Morty, a 20-month-old golden retriever, finished school in February.

— jane wester, charlotteobserver, "New CMPD addition has nose for bodies, bones, blood | Charlotte Observer," 14 Mar. 2018
The aim is for the student to finish school with a purpose and a plan for the future.

— bob gathany, AL.com, "Beautiful spring color has arrived early this year," 26 Feb. 2018
For generations, Sweet Briar was known as a finishing school for affluent Southern belles who rode horses and were looking for husbands.

— abigail jones, Newsweek, "The End of Sweet Briar College and the Problem With Women's Colleges," 29 Apr. 2015

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