admission

American  

[ad-mish-uhn] / ædˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

• admissions
  plural

1. 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.

2. right or permission to enter.

   granting admission to the rare books room.

   Synonyms:

   access

3. the price paid for entrance, as to a theater or ball park.

4. an act or condition of being received or accepted in a position, profession, occupation, or office; appointment.

   admission to the bar.

5. confession of a charge, an error, or a crime; acknowledgment.

   His admission of the theft solved the mystery.

6. an acknowledgment of the truth of something.

7. a point or statement admitted; concession.

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admission British  

/ ədˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. permission to enter or the right, authority, etc, to enter

2. the price charged for entrance

3. acceptance for a position, office, etc

4. a confession, as of a crime, mistake, etc

5. an acknowledgment of the truth or validity of something

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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

• nonadmission
  noun
• readmission
  noun
• admissive
  adjective
• proadmission
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• admissions
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

admission admissions

“Pullbacks are the admission price for participating in longer-term market appreciation. This underscores the importance of staying aligned with the primary trend rather than short-term turbulence,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Flu hospital admission rates remain low across California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

General admission for Grand Prix Sunday at Silverstone is up to £289 from £189 in 2021, while the cheapest allocated seat now costs at least £609, up from £276 five years ago.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The most selective colleges in the country typically require an SAT score of at least 1400 for admission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

With this admission, the wilderness that would swallow me forever became no longer impassable.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

She said her priorities were to reduce avoidable hospital admissions, including with "robust" public messaging, to ensure people were accessing the right sort of medical care.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 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

I then spent four precious jots of my own money on paper and ink and called in the favor Jaxim owed me for trading him my late admissions slot.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• accession
• admittance
• assertion
• concession
• confirmation
• disclosure
• revelation
• statement
• testimony