Tuition
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The training or instruction provided by a teacher or tutor. Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable
"Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms. […]"
- 2 teaching pupils individually (usually by a tutor hired privately) wordnet
- 3 Paid private classes taken outside of formal education; tutoring. (also used attributively) Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, countable, uncountable
"tuition classes"
- 4 a fee paid for instruction (especially for higher education) wordnet
- 5 A sum of money paid for instruction (such as in a private school, boarding school, university, or college). Canada, Philippines, US, countable, uncountable
"The school’s tuition will increase by five percent next year."
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- 6 Care, guardianship. archaic, countable, uncountable
"BENEDICK. I have almost matter enough in me for such an embassage; and so I commit you— CLAUDIO. To the tuition of God: from my house, if I had it,— DON PEDRO. The sixth of July: your loving friend, Benedick. BENEDICK. Nay, mock not, mock not."
Example
More examples"I'll rely on my father for half of my tuition."
Etymology
From Old French [Term?], from Latin tuitiō (“guard, protection, defense”), from tuēri (“to watch, guard, see, observe”). Compare intuition, tutor.
Related phrases
More for "tuition"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.