establishment

[ ih-stab-lish-muhnt ]
See synonyms for establishment on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or an instance of establishing.

  2. the state or fact of being established.

  1. something established; a constituted order or system.

  2. Often the Establishment .

    • the existing power structure in society; the dominant groups in society and their customs or institutions; institutional authority: The Establishment believes exploring outer space is worth any tax money spent.

    • the dominant group in a field of endeavor, organization, etc.: the literary Establishment.

  3. a household; place of residence including its furnishings, grounds, etc.

  4. a place of business together with its employees, merchandise, equipment, etc.

  5. a permanent civil, military, or other force or organization.

  6. an institution, as a school, hospital, etc.

  7. the recognition by a state of a church as the state church.

  8. the church so recognized, especially the Church of England.

  9. Archaic. a fixed or settled income.

Origin of establishment

1
First recorded in 1475–85, and in1920–25 for def. 4a; establish + -ment

Other words from establishment

  • non·es·tab·lish·ment, noun, adjective
  • re·es·tab·lish·ment, noun
  • su·per·es·tab·lish·ment, noun

Words Nearby establishment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use establishment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for establishment (1 of 2)

establishment

/ (ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt) /


noun
  1. the act of establishing or state of being established

    • a business organization or other large institution

    • the place where a business is carried on

  1. the staff and equipment of a commercial or other organization

  2. the approved size, composition, and equipment of a military unit, government department, business division, etc, as formally promulgated

  3. any large organization, institution, or system

  4. a household or place of residence

  5. a body of employees or servants

  6. (modifier) belonging to or characteristic of the Establishment; orthodox or conservative: the establishment view of history

British Dictionary definitions for Establishment (2 of 2)

Establishment

/ (ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt) /


noun
  1. the Establishment a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook

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