schoolyard
noun
school·yard
ˈskül-ˌyärd 
plural schoolyards
: the area next to or surrounding a school where students typically play games or sports
He organized a marbles tournament that could take place only in the schoolyard during recess.—
Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli… there was a schoolboyish quality to the way he did it—as if he were trying to show that he was the biggest, toughest boy in the schoolyard.—Elizabeth Drew
—often used before another nounElizabeth Drewschoolyard games
a schoolyard bully
Examples of schoolyard in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Outside the building there was the far corner of the schoolyard’s flower bed.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
While the schoolyard is in progress, the school’s environmental specialist and garden coordinator are getting students outside, growing plants and on field trips, while organizing curriculum with an environmental focus.
—Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
My father would fight kids in the schoolyard, all of them white, who said Mantle was better
than Mays, but remember the yellowed icon
of that era is an over-the-shoulder basket
catch, defense with Mays facing away
from us.
—Natan Last, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
None of them ever absorbed the old schoolyard lesson, don’t let your mouth write a check your ass can’t cash.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for schoolyard
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Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
While the schoolyard is in progress, the school’s environmental specialist and garden coordinator are getting students outside, growing plants and on field trips, while organizing curriculum with an environmental focus.
—Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
My father would fight kids in the schoolyard, all of them white, who said Mantle was better
than Mays, but remember the yellowed icon
of that era is an over-the-shoulder basket
catch, defense with Mays facing away
from us.
—Natan Last, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
None of them ever absorbed the old schoolyard lesson, don’t let your mouth write a check your ass can’t cash.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for schoolyard
Cite this Entry
“Schoolyard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schoolyard. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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