admission

American  

[ad-mish-uhn] / ædˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

admissions plural

1. the act of allowing to enter; entrance granted by permission, by provision or existence of pecuniary means, or by the removal of obstacles.

   the admission of foreign aid workers into the zone of active conflict.

2. right or permission to enter.

   granting admission to the rare books room.

   Synonyms:

   access

3. the price paid for entrance, as to a theater or ball park.

4. an act or condition of being received or accepted in a position, profession, occupation, or office; appointment.

   admission to the bar.

5. confession of a charge, an error, or a crime; acknowledgment.

   His admission of the theft solved the mystery.

6. an acknowledgment of the truth of something.

7. a point or statement admitted; concession.

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admission British  

/ ədˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. permission to enter or the right, authority, etc, to enter

2. the price charged for entrance

3. acceptance for a position, office, etc

4. a confession, as of a crime, mistake, etc

5. an acknowledgment of the truth or validity of something

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Usage

What is an admission? An admission is entrance by permission or the removal of obstacles to entry, as in The admission of girls into the science program has been a long time coming. Admission is also a right or permission to enter, as in Only employees have admission to the backstage area. Admission can also be the price paid in order to enter, as at a sports or theater event. An admission can also be a confession or acknowledgement of the truth, as when you admit that you were the one who broke your mother’s favorite dish. Example: Just the first act of the play was worth the price of admission.

Synonym Usage

See entrance ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonadmission
  noun
• readmission
  noun
• admissive
  adjective
• proadmission
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• admissions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of admission

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French and Latin admissiōn- (stem of admissiō ), equivalent to admiss-, past participial stem of the verb admittere admit + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

If you pay admission, you're paying a fee in order to attend something, like an event or a movie. After you pay admission to the movie theater, you head straight to the popcorn stand. The noun admission stems from the Latin word admissionem, meaning "a letting in." It often refers to a fee charged for entry, but it can also describe the process of being granted entry. The university's admission of the new student was welcome news — now he has access to the school's research facilities. An admission can also be a confession that something is true, such as your brother's surly admission that he was the one who popped your bike tire.

Example Sentences

This was not an admission of guilt, but the start of Varley's web of lies.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

Heavy trading in the stock might also damp the price impact of index admission, as buying by tracker funds will be only a fraction of the huge volumes of trading.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

After some renovations to its large water slide that will be reopening Saturday, the pool is open to swimmers for an admission fee of $4 for adults and children 17 and under for $1.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

A government report External link found that the Medicare Advantage plans they reviewed collectively denied 12% of requests for admission to skilled nursing facilities, and 18% of those rejections were appealed.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

She was about to say, In the play I was in, catching the admission just before it slipped past her tongue.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• accession
• admittance
• assertion
• concession
• confirmation
• disclosure
• revelation
• statement
• testimony