reform school

noun

: a reformatory for boys or girls

Examples of reform school in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Faith on death row functioned like reform school, though the graduates all died. Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 Two young Black men try to survive an infamous Florida reform school. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 29 Nov. 2024 Watch on Deadline Whitehead’s novel follows the friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Jim Crow Florida. Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2025 Told with a dynamic first-person point of view, the film places the viewer inside the experiences of two young Black men, Elwood and Turner, who are trapped in a reform school in Florida in the early 1960s. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for reform school 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reform school was circa 1859

Dictionary Entries Near reform school

Cite this Entry

“Reform school.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reform%20school. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

reform school

noun
: a reformatory for boys or girls

Legal Definition

reform school

noun
: a reformatory for boys or girls

More from Merriam-Webster on reform school

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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