orientation

American  

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

noun

• orientations
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonorientation
  noun
• orientational
  adjective
• orientative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orientations
  plural

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

See Examples For:

orientation orientations

In 2016, the king made headlines again by giving an impassioned speech , externalsupporting diversity of religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

The clearest dividing line our interviewees described was orientation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He was supposed to be at freshman orientation but didn’t have a way to get from the Bay Area down to San Diego.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

After reaching the desired orientation, the team used an annealing process designed specifically for the material.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Maybe airports lost and found planes all the time, and that was just one of those things nobody had mentioned in the Sky Trails orientation.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

"The Fifa World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events," it said in a statement.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

The meandering floor plan, with its rooms of various sizes and orientations alongside their resulting passageways and corners, demands that you wander, not map, your perusal of the galleries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

That work launched a new field of research known as "twistronics," which studies the surprising effects that emerge when ultra-thin materials are stacked and twisted at exact orientations.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2025

“It’s weird to think about a life in the vertical as opposed to the horizontal,” Nordwind said with a laugh, referring to the respective orientations of videos on TikTok and YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025

Beyond that, they were of many backgrounds and sexual orientations.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

• direction
• location