institute

American  

[in-sti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈɪn stɪˌtut, -ˌtjut /

verb (used with object)

• institutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• instituted,
  past participle,  past
• instituting
  present participle

1. to set up; establish; organize.

   to institute a government.

2. to inaugurate; initiate; start.

   to institute a new course in American literature.

3. to set in operation.

   to institute a lawsuit.

4. to bring into use or practice.

   to institute laws.

5. to establish in an office or position.

6. Ecclesiastical. to assign to or invest with a spiritual charge, as of a parish.

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noun

• institutes
  plural

1. a society or organization for carrying on a particular work, as of a literary, scientific, or educational character.

2. the building occupied by such a society.

3. Education.

   1. an institution, generally beyond the secondary school level, devoted to instruction in technical subjects, usually separate but sometimes organized as a part of a university.

   2. a unit within a university organized for advanced instruction and research in a relatively narrow field of subject matter.

   3. a short instructional program set up for a special group interested in a specialized field or subject.

4. an established principle, law, custom, or organization.

5. institutes,

   1. an elementary textbook of law designed for beginners.

   2. Also called Institutes of Justinian. (initial capital letter) an elementary treatise on Roman law in four books, forming one of the four divisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis.

6. something instituted.

institute British  

/ ˈɪnstɪˌtjuːt /

verb

1. to organize; establish

2. to initiate

   to institute a practice

3. to establish in a position or office; induct

4. to install (a clergyman) in a church

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noun

1. an organization founded for particular work, such as education, promotion of the arts, or scientific research

2. the building where such an organization is situated

3. something instituted, esp a rule, custom, or precedent

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• institutor
  noun
• reinstitute
  verb (used with object)
• uninstituted
  adjective
• well-instituted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• institutes
  plural

Participles

• instituting
  present
• instituted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• institute
  simple
• institutes
  simple
• have instituted
  perfect
• has instituted
  perfect
• am instituting
  progressive
• are instituting
  progressive
• is instituting
  progressive
• have been instituting
  perfect progressive
• has been instituting
  perfect progressive

Past

• instituted
  simple
• had instituted
  perfect
• was instituting
  progressive
• were instituting
  progressive
• had been instituting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will institute
  simple
• will have instituted
  perfect
• will be instituting
  progressive
• will have been instituting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of institute

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin institūtus, past participle of instituere “to set, put up, establish,” equivalent to in- ”in” + -stitū- (combining form of statū-, stem of statuere “to place upright, set, stand” ) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- ², stand

Explanation

An institute is an organization or association designed to study or promote something. If you're interested in politics, you might want to do an internship at one of Washington D.C.'s many political research institutes. While you may have heard of an institute, whether it’s the National Institute for Art Advancement or the National Cancer Institute, you may not know institute in its verb form. To institute something means to establish or advance it. You might institute the hiring of Spanish-speakers at your company, or, if workers complain about being overworked, you might institute a new policy on taking breaks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

institute institutes instituted instituting

"The race is tied but not at a standstill: the final week will determine where the voters who can still be swayed will go," Felipe Nunes, director of the Quaest polling institute, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The institute was also required by law to hire an accountant to audit its books every year, so that it might report its spending to Congress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based institute of Sunni Islamic learning, also denounced the incident.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The billionaire is the board chair of the institute, which is housed at a research center owned by UCLA, according to the opposition campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Lawes hired the first black guard in 1925 and endorsed plans to institute a six-day workweek for prison officers, down from seven.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

This week, leading economic institutes raised the country's growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 above 1% while illegal entries into Germany – and Europe – are down year on year.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Center for AI Standards and Innovation could work with the emerging network of AI safety institutes around the world—such as existing groups in the U.K.,

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

The company told me that it’s “pleased with the analysis” and added, “we regularly provide data to credible and verified third-party research firms and institutes to ensure accuracy and factual representation in any public reporting.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Several economic institutes upgraded their 2026 growth forecasts this week, predicting the economy would expand by 1.3 to 1.4 percent, substantially higher than just a few months ago.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

After that night Met Bong institutes a new policy and we now take turns guarding the camp at night.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

But recently, they instituted a “cold call rule” allowing them to call each other anytime, day or night, without texting first.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

He noted that the $100 price hikes on newer and earlier-generation phones came in below the $150 to $200 increases on iPad and MacBooks instituted this summer.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Johnson has apparently instituted a number of USA-style flourishes into the program.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

The government has instituted a heavily subsidized exchange rate for up to $3.5 billion of imports such as wheat, medicine and baby formula, giving priority to essentials over other uses of scarce dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

In Wacquant’s words: “Racial division was a consequence, not a precondition of slavery, but once it was instituted it became detached from its initial function and acquired a social potency all its own.”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

On top of that, he pointed out that Micron has been instituting long-term agreements, which lock in contracts with customers to sell capacity in advance and can limit volatility down the road.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The company is now instituting governance practices to prevent too many AI agents from providing conflicting results for the same problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

The state government established what was called a “concurrency doctrine,” instituting strict requirements for infrastructure development—water, sewer, schooling—that had to be established before construction permits were granted.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said the manufacturing powerhouse, the world's eighth-largest consumer of crude oil, is moving towards instituting fuel price caps to alleviate pressure on the country's energy supply.

From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026

Once it was gone, he was glad to be rid of it, for he had been troubled from the start by the danger of instituting the plan without first checking it out with Colonel Korn.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• appoint
• come up with
• create
• enact
• establish
• inaugurate
• initiate
• install
• introduce
• launch
• organize
• set up