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.
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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.
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an act or condition of being received or accepted in a position, profession, occupation, or office; appointment.
admission to the bar.
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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.
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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:
"The one up side, though, is that people using these sites have on some level already admitted to themselves they have a problem, and that admission is often the first step in recovery," says Lembke.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
United says my greeter should have talked to the front desk for easy admission with my package.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
This is an embarrassing admission, considering I write about personal finance for a living.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Shortly after Muniz’s post, Price posted an Instagram story with a message that some followers speculated may be a response to the actor’s admission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Yes’m.” was the meek answer, as he began, doing his best to prove his gratitude for the favor of admission into the ‘Busy Bee Society’.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
The wildfires have led to school closures and a surge in hospital admissions across Indonesia.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The ruling did not require schools to base admissions solely on grades or test scores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
“For violent and property offences, the reduction in prison admissions corresponds primarily with substantial declines in crime rates, not changes in policing or case processing,” the authors note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
That report recommended keeping the SAT and ACT in place until UC could develop its own admissions test, an idea UC later concluded was too difficult and costly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Then I rode the Greyhound to Atlanta and limped into the admissions office.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
