reform school

noun

: a reformatory for boys or girls

Examples of reform school in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Having survived a childhood marked by abuse at the hands of her mother, Sinéad O’Connor found her voice at a Catholic girls’ reform school, where a nun bought her a guitar and a book of Bob Dylan songs. —Allyson McCabe, Vulture, 27 July 2023

In her teens, she was arrested for shoplifting and sent to reform schools. —Joe Coscarelli, New York Times, 27 July 2023

From reform school, he was sent to an institution for older offenders. —Annalisa Quinn, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2023

Then a bad altercation with the head waiter there left a 16-year-old Bemelmans, in the winter of 1914, with two choices: be shipped off to German reform school or figure it out on his own in New York. —Leena Kim, Town & Country, 22 Apr. 2023

Agapé Boarding School, a Christian reform school accused of abusing dozens of former students, shuttered its doors in January. —Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2023

Named a Pulitzer finalist for his reporting that uncovered abuse at a Florida reform school for boys, Montgomery was hired by Axios in late 2020 and sent his first newsletter in January 2021 as part of the outlet’s growing presence in local journalism. —Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2023

The Nickel Boys is set in Jim Crow-era Florida and focuses on two boys unjustly sentenced to a brutal reform school. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2022

Sure, some Mikes seem easy to love — as D’Amato tells the former reform school kid in one of their many father-son moments — but other Mikes much less so, and connecting them harder still. —Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

circa 1859, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

reform school

noun

: a reformatory for boys or girls

Legal Definition

reform school

noun

: a reformatory for boys or girls