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On the Definition of in school page of Merriam-Webster, the US tag is used.

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While the Definition of at school page uses the British tag.

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Does that kind of tag indicate where the item is being used? In this example, Americans use "in school" while "at school" is more common in BrE.

Is my understanding correct?

JQQ
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1 Answers1

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It indicates which dialect the expression is used in.

It is only a general guide: Speakers of American English dialects tend to use "in school" whereas speakers of British English dialects tend to "at school"

I wrote "dialects" in the plural, because there are many different American dialects. and many British dialects.

James K
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  • Thank you. Your answer is quite clear and easy to understand. To convey the same idea, could I say "Americans tend to use in school while British English speakers tend to at school", which looks shorter? – JQQ Aug 03 '20 at 01:23