kindergarten

noun

kin·​der·​gar·​ten ˈkin-dər-ˌgär-tᵊn 

ˈkin-də-,

-dᵊn

plural kindergartens

: a school or class for children usually from five to six years old

Examples of kindergarten in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With fewer students, some vacant schools and kindergartens are meanwhile being transformed into care facilities for older people. —Christopher Bodeen, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025

Thousands of kindergartens have closed and more than 170,000 preschool teachers lost their jobs in 2023. —Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025

Her method soon crossed borders as kindergartens in Italian-speaking Switzerland adopted her methods. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Jan. 2025

The participants were 3- to 5-year-old children in kindergarten who played over a 28-day period in one of two types of sandpits for up to two hours per day. —Kathy Willis, WIRED, 21 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

German, from Kinder children + Garten garden

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kindergarten

noun

kin·​der·​gar·​ten ˈkin-də(r)-ˌgärt-ᵊn 

-ˌgärd-

: a school or class for very young children

Etymology

from German kindergarten "a school for very young children," from kinder "children" and garten "garden"