Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

special education

noun

Definition of special education

  1. :  classes or instruction designed for students with special educational needs

See special education defined for English-language learners

See special education defined for kids

From the M-W Editors

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
image1489982902
Devilish Words
steve-bannon
Trending: Bannon: One of Us is Going to be a 'Hegemon'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

First Known Use of special education

1921

SPECIAL EDUCATION Defined for English Language Learners

special education

noun

Definition of special education for English Language Learners

  • : classes for children who have special needs because of physical or learning problems

SPECIAL EDUCATION Defined for Kids

special education

noun

Definition of special education for Students

  1. :  classes or instruction designed for students with special educational needs

Learn More about special education

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about special education

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up special education? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

oppugn

play

to fight against or to call in question

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  2. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  3. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  4. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  5. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

special education

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

image1458426927
Food Words for Strong Flavors

A tasting menu of vivid flavor descriptions

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game