reform school

noun

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Definition of reform school

: a reformatory for boys or girls

See reform school defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of reform school from the Web

Children as young as 2 were warehoused at this brutal and corrupt reform school.

— gary kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, "Corrupt, inhumane reform school was SF’s first form of juvenile justice," 16 Mar. 2018
The New York Times previously reported that as a child, Fitzgerald was sent to a reform school by a family court order.

— stephanie nolasco, Fox News, "Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe bonded after suffering from abusive childhoods, book claims," 2 Apr. 2018
Ethan Allen operated as a juvenile detention center and reform school from 1959 until July 2011, but according to State Rep. Cindi Duchow's office, the facility has not been mentioned as a potential site for the one of the new teen prisons.

— steven martinez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Delafield's Ethan Allen not mentioned as possible site for Gov. Walker's new youth detention facilities," 5 Jan. 2018
Social justice advocates have embraced the film to spark conversation about reforming school discipline.

— jeff truesdell, PEOPLE.com, "'For Ahkeem' Documentary Explores Troubled Teen's Powerful Journey While Inspiring Change," 13 Feb. 2018
Born in London in 1903, Hope moved to Cleveland at age 4 and endured hard times growing up, including reform school.

— chris ball, cleveland.com, "'This is Bob Hope,' from PBS, now on DVD (review)," 30 Jan. 2018
In the early 1960s at the Wiltwyck School for Boys in New York, a reform school for mostly black and Latino youths, Dr. Minuchin began to question the traditional wisdom of leaving families out of the treatment picture.

— faye fiore, Washington Post, "Salvador Minuchin, psychiatrist who revolutionized family therapy, dies at 96," 4 Nov. 2017
At the time, Tillinghast hadn’t been living at home for almost a year; she’d been sent to a reform school for girls after pleading guilty to a possession of marijuana charge.

— bianca hillier, NBC News, "Sheryl Ann Tillinghast’s Case Still Open 44 Years Later," 24 Sep. 2017
Even by the standards of boxing, Mr. LaMotta was a rough-hewn specimen, a product of the New York slums who learned his brutal trade on street corners and in reform school.

— matt schudel, Washington Post, "Jake LaMotta, ‘Raging Bull’ of boxing, dies at 95," 20 Sep. 2017

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