Phrase guide

school of hard knocks

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The source of an education consisting of real-world experiences, especially adverse experiences.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, countable, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: university of hard knocks, university of life, university of the streets

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 人生學校 /人生学校 (rénshēng xuéxiào) — source of education by adverse experience
  • Finnish: elämänkoulu — source of education by adverse experience
  • Finnish: kantapään kautta oppiminen — source of education by adverse experience
  • French: école de vie — source of education by adverse experience
  • French: école de la vie — source of education by adverse experience
  • German: Schule des Lebens — source of education by adverse experience
  • Kazakh: өмір мектебі (ömır mektebı) — source of education by adverse experience
  • Polish: szkoła życia — source of education by adverse experience
  • Portuguese: escola da vida — source of education by adverse experience
  • Romanian: școala vieții — source of education by adverse experience
  • Russian: шко́ла жи́зни (škóla žízni) — source of education by adverse experience
  • Spanish: gramática parda — source of education by adverse experience
  • Swedish: livets hårda skola — source of education by adverse experience