Word forms: plural polytechnics1. variable noun [oft in names]In Britain, a polytechnic was a college where you could go after leaving school in order to study academic subjects up to degree level, or to train for particular jobs. In 1992, all the polytechnics in Britain became universities.
2. variable noun [oft in names]In the United States, polytechnic is the former name for a school, college, or university which specialized in courses in science and technology.
See Thesaurus for polytechnic