orientation

American  

[awr-ee-uhn-tey-shuhn, -en-, ohr-] / ˌɔr i ənˈteɪ ʃən, -ɛn-, ˌoʊr- /

noun

1. the act or process of orienting.

2. the state of being oriented.

3. an introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like.

   New employees receive two days of orientation.

4. Psychology, Psychiatry. the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.

5. one's position in relation to true north, to points on the compass, or to a specific place or object.

6. the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.

7. Chemistry.

   1. the relative positions of certain atoms or groups, especially in aromatic compounds.

   2. the determination of the position of substituted atoms or groups in a compound.

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orientation British  

/ ˌɔːrɪɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of orienting or the state of being oriented

2. position or positioning with relation to the points of the compass or other specific directions

3. the adjustment or alignment of oneself or one's ideas to surroundings or circumstances

4. Also called: orientation course. 

   1. a course, programme, lecture, etc, introducing a new situation or environment

   2. ( as modifier )

      an orientation talk

5. psychol the knowledge of one's own temporal, social, and practical circumstances in life

6. basic beliefs or preferences

   sexual orientation

7. biology the change in position of the whole or part of an organism in response to a stimulus, such as light

8. chem the relative dispositions of atoms, ions, or groups in molecules or crystals

9. the siting of a church on an east-west axis, usually with the altar at the E end

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Other Word Forms

• nonorientation
  noun
• orientational
  adjective
• orientative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of orientation

First recorded in 1830–40; orientate + -ion

Explanation

Orientation is all about the direction you're facing. A house can have an east-facing orientation. Freshman orientation starts you off in a good direction. Your political orientation means your political outlook. Orientation is a relatively new word that was derived in the 19th century from orient, which means to point yourself in a specific direction. Hiking with a map and a compass is sometimes called orienteering, referring to hikers' use of those tools to orient themselves.

Example Sentences

Orientation begins in the hallway outside the 5,000-square-foot main gallery with “Road to Revolution,” a timeline of colonial unrest from 1763 to 1774.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

The second, published in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity on Nov. 30, took those qualitative findings and attempted to demarcate four discrete subtypes or pathways for detransition.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2023

Then about 15 minutes later, Fisher was in the Capitol Visitor Center’s Orientation Lobby, where an altercation started between a Capitol police officer and other rioters.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2023

Orientation for the program begins on June 26, and the program ends Aug. 4.

From Washington Post • Feb. 7, 2023

“You’re sure now,” she demanded, “that none of the robots have had a chance to talk with each other after leaving the Orientation Room?”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Related Words

• direction
• location