Definition

Noun: A school course that provides practical instruction in skilled manual trades, such as woodworking, metalworking, or automotive repair. It is a hands-on class where students learn to use tools, machinery, and techniques to create or repair objects.

Usage

This term is used to refer to a specific type of vocational or practical arts course within a school curriculum. It is typically a required or elective class at the middle school or high school level.

Examples

• All freshmen are required to take either shop class or home economics.
• He learned to weld in his high school shop class.
• The school is considering cutting funding for the shop class.

Advanced Usage

• The term can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any environment focused on practical, hands-on making or repair, though this is less common.
  • The community center's woodworking program feels like a professional shop class.

Variants and Related Words

• Industrial arts: A broader, more formal term for school subjects that include shop classes, often encompassing drafting, electronics, and other technical skills.
• Vocational education (voc-ed): A wider category of training for specific trades or careers, which may include shop classes.
• Woodshop / Metal shop / Auto shop: Specific types of shop classes focusing on a single trade.

Synonyms

• Manual training
• Trade class
• Technical education (in a specific, hands-on context)

Antonyms

• Theory class
• Academic class
• Lecture-based course

Related Phrases

• To take shop: An informal phrase meaning to enroll in or attend shop class.
  • He decided to take shop instead of drama.

Noun

1. a course of instruction in a trade (as carpentry or electricity)
   • I built a birdhouse in shop