preschool

preschool — adjective

1. describing children aged roughly three to five who do not yet attend regular sch

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing children aged roughly three to five who do not yet attend regular school, or describing the activities, classes, and toys made for them.

Example

Maya runs a music class for preschool children every Saturday morning.

preschool + plural noun (children)

The library has a quiet room full of preschool books with big pictures.

preschool + concrete noun (books)

Common collocations
  • preschool child
  • preschool children
  • preschool years
  • preschool age
  • preschool teacher
  • preschool program
  • preschool class
Synonyms
  • pre-K

    American, often used for the year just before kindergarten (around age 4)

  • nursery

    British, refers to the same age group; 'nursery school' is the common phrase

  • kindergarten

    in some countries means the same; in the US it means the year just before first grade, so not the same

Antonyms
  • school-age

    describes children old enough to attend regular school

Grammar Patterns

preschool + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used directly before a noun (preschool child, preschool teacher, preschool years). Not used after a verb like 'be': avoid 'My son is preschool' — say 'My son is of preschool age' or use the noun sense.

Common Mistakes

My nephew is preschool.
My nephew is of preschool age.
the adjective modifies a noun; it cannot stand alone after 'be'.
She teaches preschoolly.
She teaches preschool children.
there is no adverb form; keep it as a modifier.

preschool — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five describe places where young children spend part of the day, but they differ in age range, country, and purpose. Preschool is the standard American term for a place children attend roughly between ages two and five, with a mix of play and early learning. Nursery school is the British equivalent and usually covers the same age group. Kindergarten is the tricky one: in the United States it is the school year for five-year-olds, after preschool, while in Taiwan, the UK, and many other places it covers the whole pre-elementary period. Daycare focuses on caring for children while parents work and may take babies as well. Playgroup is the most informal — short sessions, often run by parents in a community space. So: 'Lina starts preschool in September' (US), 'Lina starts nursery school in September' (UK), 'Lina starts kindergarten in September' (Taiwan).

preschool ↗nursery schoolkindergarten ↗daycareplaygroup

Common collocations

Nouns

  • preschool teacher
  • preschool child
  • preschool program
  • preschool class
  • preschool age
  • preschool years

Phrases

  • go to preschool
  • start preschool
  • attend preschool
  • drop off at preschool
  • pick up from preschool

Prepositions

  • at preschool
  • in preschool
  • to preschool
  • from preschool
  • before preschool

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed in American English in the early twentieth century by joining the prefix 'pre-' (meaning 'before', from Latin 'prae') to the noun 'school'. The adjective use, describing children younger than school age, came first; the noun use, naming the place itself, became common in the United States from around the 1930s as group-based early childhood education spread. British English has tended to keep 'nursery school' for the same idea.