inauguration

American  

[in-aw-gyuh-rey-shuhn, -guh-] / ɪnˌɔ gyəˈreɪ ʃən, -gə- /

noun

1. an act or ceremony of inaugurating.

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Usage

What does inauguration mean? Inauguration is the process of inaugurating someone—officially inducting them into a position. It can also refer to the process of introducing something into use with a formal ceremony. Inauguration is also commonly used to refer to a ceremony in which a person or thing is inaugurated. The inauguration of U. S. presidents—in which they are officially inducted into office and sworn in—happens on Inauguration Day. The inauguration of a new factory or public building might involve a ribbon-cutting ceremony or a dedication ceremony, for example. However, the word is not all that commonly used in this way. In the context of buildings, the word dedication is more common. The verb inaugurate can also be used in a more general way meaning to formally or officially take action to begin something—to initiate or commence it. The noun inauguration can also be used in this general way to mean initiation or commencement, as in The end of the war brought about the inauguration of a new era. Example: In the U. S., presidents are elected in November, but their terms don’t officially begin until their inauguration in January.

Other Word Forms

• reinauguration noun

Etymology

Origin of inauguration

First recorded in 1560–70, inauguration is from the Late Latin word inaugurātiōn- (stem of inaugurātiō ). See inaugurate, -ion.

Explanation

An inauguration is a ceremony that formally marks the start of something. You’ve probably seen the inauguration ceremony when a new president takes office. Inauguration can refer to a formal ceremony, such as one marking the start of a new term in office or the opening of a new wing in a museum, but it can be used more broadly to describe a less formal beginning. Your boss may make you responsible for the inauguration of a new system at work. There probably won’t be a ceremony for that inauguration — in this case, inauguration just indicates that a new practice is being introduced.

Example Sentences

But since 2019, the two nations have plunged into a diplomatic deep-freeze so profound that Madrid sent no official representative to the 2024 inauguration marking Sheinbaum’s ascension as Mexico’s first woman president.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Dulles served as Eisenhower’s secretary of state from his first inauguration until Dulles’s death from cancer, in May 1959.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Ndayishimiye had just returned on Tuesday afternoon from a trip to the Central African Republic for his Centrafrican counterpart Faustin-Archange Touadera's third-term inauguration.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

The yields on the 20-year and 30-year Treasuries have fallen by a more modest amount of 0.28 percentage points and 0.15 percentage points, respectively, since Trump’s inauguration.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

On the night of July 1, Charles Guiteau booked a room at the Riggs House, the same luxury hotel where James Garfield stayed before his inauguration.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• commencement
• inaugural
• induction
• initiation
• launch
• launching
• opening