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• establishment
  establishment

  noun

  the act or an instance of establishing.
• Establishment
  Establishment

  noun

  a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook

establishment

American  

[ih-stab-lish-muhnt] / ɪˈstæb lɪʃ mənt /

noun

• establishments
  plural

1. the act or an instance of establishing.

2. the state or fact of being established.

3. something established; a constituted order or system.

4. Often the Establishment

   1. the existing power structure in society; the dominant groups in society and their customs or institutions; institutional authority.

      The Establishment believes exploring outer space is worth any tax money spent.

   2. the dominant group in a field of endeavor, organization, etc..

      the literary Establishment.

5. a household; place of residence including its furnishings, grounds, etc.

6. a place of business together with its employees, merchandise, equipment, etc.

7. a permanent civil, military, or other force or organization.

8. an institution, as a school, hospital, etc.

9. the recognition by a state of a church as the state church.

10. the church so recognized, especially the Church of England.

11. Archaic. a fixed or settled income.

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establishment ¹ British  

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt /

noun

1. the act of establishing or state of being established

2. 1. a business organization or other large institution

   2. the place where a business is carried on

3. the staff and equipment of a commercial or other organization

4. the approved size, composition, and equipment of a military unit, government department, business division, etc, as formally promulgated

5. any large organization, institution, or system

6. a household or place of residence

7. a body of employees or servants

8. (modifier) belonging to or characteristic of the Establishment; orthodox or conservative

   the establishment view of history

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Establishment ² British  

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt /

noun

1. a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook

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Usage

What does establishment mean? Establishment commonly refers to the official start or founding of something, such as a law, business, or other organization, as in It has been 200 years since the establishment of this great nation. It is the noun form of the verb establish, which has many meanings but most commonly means to found, institute, or bring into being. Things that have been established are called establishments, especially businesses, as in I try to buy from local establishments whenever possible. Establishment is also used more specifically to refer collectively to the existing power structure in a society and its dominant institutions, as in That kind of radical thinking is frowned upon by the establishment. This use is often negative. It can also be used in a similar way to refer to the dominant group in a particular field, as in the medical establishment. In both of these cases, Establishment is often capitalized.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonestablishment
  noun
• reestablishment
  noun
• superestablishment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• establishments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of establishment

First recorded in 1475–85, and in 1920–25 establishment for def. 4a; establish + -ment

Explanation

Kids were more comfortable in school after the establishment of a no-tolerance bullying policy in the cafeteria. Establishment means setting up or something that has been set up. In the 1960s, the youth movement took on what they called "the establishment," by which they meant the way society was set up and organized. Their sentiments could be summed up in a word that is rumored to be one of the longest in the English language, if it actually exists: disestablishmentarianism.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

establishment Establishment establishments

It was inside this famed establishment that filmmakers Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero first met one night back in 2008.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Parton’s unique star quality took Hollywood’s establishment by surprise in those days.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

The establishment of an Amazon "fulfilment centre" at Gourock provided a glimmer of hope in the early 2000s but that too shut down three years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and Pakistan's powerful military establishment.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

Though I haven’t frequented that establishment in quite some time.”

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

It represents what might be called an Establishment Modernism, befitting a confident institution secure in its sense of self.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

The Constitution has the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from “establishing” a national religion.

From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2024

This year, 4,000 pages of documents from the Atomic Weapons Establishment were declassified after a long Freedom of Information fight.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

Establishment support has coalesced around Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who is favored to take the seat in November.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

There I was, in the heart of the Medical Establishment, and I wanted to see, at long last, what it was I had always been afraid of.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Due to a lack of publicly available data, we were unable to analyse festival accommodation costs at university-run establishments.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Many restaurants were skeptical at first, but OpenTable went so far as to help secure internet connections for establishments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Some establishments have hired executives to manage all the technology needed to power reservations, customer relations and online ordering, said Chris DeSaye, vice president of Information Technology for Gibsons Restaurant Group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Confederation of Businesses of Ceuta has advised shops and other commercial establishments to remain closed "until security can be guaranteed".

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

At the urging of Father Nicanor, he arranged for the transfer of Catarino's store to a back street and he closed down several scandalous establishments that prospered in the center of town.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• formation
• formulation
• founding
• inauguration
• installation
• institution