admission
Americannoun
-
admissions
plural
-
the act of allowing to enter; entrance granted by permission, by provision or existence of pecuniary means, or by the removal of obstacles.
the admission of foreign aid workers into the zone of active conflict.
-
right or permission to enter.
granting admission to the rare books room.
- Synonyms:
- access
-
the price paid for entrance, as to a theater or ball park.
-
an act or condition of being received or accepted in a position, profession, occupation, or office; appointment.
admission to the bar.
-
confession of a charge, an error, or a crime; acknowledgment.
His admission of the theft solved the mystery.
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an acknowledgment of the truth of something.
-
a point or statement admitted; concession.
noun
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permission to enter or the right, authority, etc, to enter
-
the price charged for entrance
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acceptance for a position, office, etc
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a confession, as of a crime, mistake, etc
-
an acknowledgment of the truth or validity of something
Usage
What is an admission? An admission is entrance by permission or the removal of obstacles to entry, as in The admission of girls into the science program has been a long time coming. Admission is also a right or permission to enter, as in Only employees have admission to the backstage area. Admission can also be the price paid in order to enter, as at a sports or theater event. An admission can also be a confession or acknowledgement of the truth, as when you admit that you were the one who broke your mother’s favorite dish. Example: Just the first act of the play was worth the price of admission.
Synonym Usage
See entrance 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of admission
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French and Latin admissiōn- (stem of admissiō ), equivalent to admiss-, past participial stem of the verb admittere admit + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you pay admission, you're paying a fee in order to attend something, like an event or a movie. After you pay admission to the movie theater, you head straight to the popcorn stand. The noun admission stems from the Latin word admissionem, meaning "a letting in." It often refers to a fee charged for entry, but it can also describe the process of being granted entry. The university's admission of the new student was welcome news — now he has access to the school's research facilities. An admission can also be a confession that something is true, such as your brother's surly admission that he was the one who popped your bike tire.
Vocabulary lists containing admission
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Education and Academics, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
He is, by his own admission, an introvert who happens to control football games for a living.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Controlling shareholders such as Mr. Amodei and Mark Zuckerberg should pay without a cap, since by their own admission they control the risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
An argument the courts have accepted in the past is that the hard pass represents a kind of admission ticket to a public forum.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
USC, for example, remains test optional, meaning students can choose to have their scores considered in the admission process, but doing so is not mandatory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
It was almost like it was the price of admission.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
He said this includes ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days and making the French university admissions platform more transparent.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
The finding adds to a series of federal actions against University of California admissions that have focused on highly selective law and medical schools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The company claims its AI tools reduce hospital admissions by up to 70% and its robots boost care teams' capacity by 20% and productivity by up to 80%.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
"Where is the evidence she did this?" said Reddington, who also cast doubt on Clancy's own admissions that she killed her children, in what would be a major shift from her mental health defense.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
The last span of every term at the University was reserved for admissions exams.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
