industrial school

noun

: a school specializing in the teaching of industrial arts

specifically : one for juvenile delinquents

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web At the time, the industrial school was fast becoming a model for preparing Black citizens for jobs in the post-Civil War economy. —

Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Sep. 2020 Built as a Jesuit school in 1660, Palacio Clavijero has had many lives — as a religious building (Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, another pivotal figure in the Mexican Revolution, studied here), a military industrial school and government offices. —

Michael Snyder, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2022 As a result, [Catholic order] the Christian Brothers, set up a Travellers-only industrial school where the first cases of abuse came out. —

Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2022 Laundries, industrial schools, and mother and baby homes have all disappeared, and the Gloucester Street laundry is now one of the last physical reminders of this Irish gulag archipelago. —

Ed O’loughlin, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2018

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

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of industrial school was in 1853

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near industrial school

industrial revolution

industrial school

industrial sociology

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Industrial school.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/industrial%20school. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

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