Institution

/ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ · noun

Meaning

A custom or practice of a society or community..

Definitions by Sense

1. A custom or practice of a society or community.
2. A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work.
3. The building or buildings which house such an organization.
4. (informal) A mental institution.
5. Any facility where people (especially those who are mentally or physically disabled or sick, or who are prisoners) are committed (confined), where their freedom to leave is restricted.
6. (informal) Any long established and respected place or business.
7. (informal) A person long established in a place, position, or field.
8. The act of instituting something.

Example Sentences

The institution of marriage is present in many cultures but its details vary widely across them.

To the cynical observation that speech is given us to conceal our thoughts it might be added that eating and drinking enable us to hide our feelings. I think that is why food is an institution almost whenever human beings have anything to say to one another.

The University of the South Pacific is the only internationally accredited institution of higher education in Oceania.

[…] these professors of Little Red Schoolhouse-education did not themselves remain in the isolated and handicapped little institution they glorify.

It is a common misconception […] that the American Mob began as an Italian institution transplanted directly from Sicily.

As both a social and a religious institution, the parish provided "the support and help" that the immigrants needed in the New World.

It was Murray's determination that finally motivated Nathan to agree to purchase the restaurant and convert it to the Coney Island-named institution, Nathan's Famous.

Who could be against reason, science, humanism, or progress? The words seem saccharine, the ideals unexceptionable. They define the missions of all the institutions of modernity—schools, hospitals, charities, news agencies, democratic governments, international organizations. Do these ideals really need a defense? They absolutely do. Since the 1960s, trust in the institutions of modernity has sunk, and the second decade of the 21st century saw the rise of populist movements that blatantly repudiate the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Synonyms for institution

Antonyms for institution

Related Words

Word Forms

• institutions

Usage Notes

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