commencement
Americannoun
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an act or instance of commencing; beginning.
the commencement of hostilities.
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the ceremony of conferring degrees or granting diplomas at the end of the academic year.
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the day on which this ceremony takes place.
noun
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the beginning; start
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a ceremony for the presentation of awards at secondary schools
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a ceremony for the conferment of academic degrees
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of commencement
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French; equivalent to commence + -ment
Explanation
A commencement is the act of starting out, or blazing a new trail. The suffix -ment makes the word commencement a noun — a thing, an activity, a start. The word can be used for the beginning of anything, from a business meeting to a vacation trip to a marriage. Anything that begins has a moment of commencement. That's why a graduation ceremony is called a commencement — a graduate is embarking on a new life, and the commencement ritual marks the official beginning of that life.
Vocabulary lists containing commencement
The Vocabulary of College
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A Graduation Lexicon
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Steve Jobs's Commencement Address (2005)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Commencement speakers, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, were met with boos when they invoked AI at graduation ceremonies this month.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
The confab of the North American Association of Commencement Officers is sponsored by the photo companies, and they sometimes pay the schools directly for the right to shoot.
From Slate • May 27, 2025
The students plan to stay at the encampment on Commencement Plaza or “find other creative ways of demonstrating” until they can negotiate their demands with administration, according to the letter.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2024
Commencement ceremonies are being held at colleges and universities across the U.S.
From Seattle Times • May 4, 2024
And it struck me, too, that no one 'Curtis Bok, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, speech at Radcliffe College Commencement, 1960. there forgets, no one there forgives.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
