You may have encountered the word high school as one word and sometimes as a separate word. So, is it highschool or high school? Well, as it turns out, they are not interchangeable! Highschool is a misspelling. It should always be high school, as it is a two-word or compound noun.
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What Is a High School?
By referring to high school, we’re talking about a level of learning within the school that comprises grades 9 through 12 or 10 through 12. Or the last years of a student’s primary education.
It’s a compound noun between the word “high” (refers to something more elevated) and the word “school” (the place of study or institute.)
The word first appeared in the 15th century in Middle English as “hyȝ scale.” This means “school for higher education,” which is equivalent to high + school.
It’s also known as secondary school, reflecting a higher academic level than elementary, primary, or middle school.
Examples
- I think not everybody loves their high school era.
- Is there math in high school?
- My high school has an excellent cafeteria
- He will always remember his high school friends
- When I was in high school, I started a band
- She brought her cat to high school
When and How To Use the Word “High School”
As a compound noun, you can use it to refer to the educational institution for students in grades 9 through 12 or 10 through 12. You can also use it as an adjective, such as high school student and high school teacher.
In both cases, you should use it as two separate words.
You can also use a capital letter when the word is part of a title, such as “High School Musical” or when it is part of a proper noun.
In all other cases, use a lowercase.
What’s the Correct Spelling of High School?
So, is it highschool or high school? As mentioned earlier, “high school” (two separate words) is the only correct spelling. This is because “high school” is an open compound word; each word retains its meaning. To better explain the concept, let’s take a look at the word sunflower, which is a closed compound word. It is spelled as one word because the words sun and flower do not convey the idea of a sunflower.
This is also common in compound nouns that refer to places, such as Sugar Land or Miami City.
How about adding a hyphen when you use the word as an adjective? Technically, you should skip the hyphen because it comes before the noun it modifies and becomes a single concept. However, some style guides accept hyphenated compound words like a high-school diploma.
In short, whether you are using the word as a noun or an adjective, you should have “high school” as two separate words.
Trick to Remembering Which Spelling to Use
A simple trick for remembering how to spell high school is to change the adjective “high” with another related word, like secondary. For instance,
middle school, primary school, and secondary school.
You’ll also notice that high schools have “high” and “school” as separate words in their names, like Windsor High School (WHS) or Soroco High School (SHS).
Final Thoughts
So remember, if you are confused about “high school” or highschool,” the correct spelling keeps “high” and “school” apart. This rule applies to all school levels, like “elementary school.” “middle school” or “primary school.” To remember the proper spelling, try substituting “high” with another adjective like “secondary.”
