induct
Americanverb (used with object)
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inducts,
present (3rd person singular)
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inducted,
past participle, past
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inducting
present participle
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to install in an office, benefice, position, etc., especially with formal ceremonies.
The committee inducted her as president.
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to introduce, especially to something requiring special knowledge or experience; initiate (usually followed by to orinto ).
They inducted him into the mystic rites of the order.
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to take (a draftee) into military service; draft.
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to bring in as a member.
to induct a person into a new profession.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inductsimple
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inductssimple
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have inductedperfect
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has inductedperfect
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am inductingprogressive
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are inductingprogressive
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is inductingprogressive
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have been inductingperfect progressive
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has been inductingperfect progressive
Past
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inductedsimple
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had inductedperfect
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was inductingprogressive
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were inductingprogressive
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had been inductingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of induct
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin inductus, past participle of indūcere, equivalent to induc- “to introduce, lead in” + -tus past participle suffix; see induce
Explanation
Induct is what groups do when they formally accept new members, like the honor societies that, every school year, induct students who meet the qualifications. When you induct someone into a group, you formally welcome him or her as a member. The word is typically used to describe official acceptance of a position or admittance into an organization, such as a professional society. It can also be used to describe someone who has formally enrolled in the military. Don't use it for informal joining, though — you wouldn't induct a new friend or be inducted at the gym where you have just started a membership.
Vocabulary lists containing induct
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
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The Glass Menagerie
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 30–November 5, 2021
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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:
I got to induct the first managers inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham — the Beatles and the Stones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The carrier was expected to induct dozens of new planes to its fleet, but deliveries are running late because of supply chain shortages, which has upended the replacement schedule.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
I stand by all of this—until the unlikely event someone wants to induct me into a Hall of Fame, in which case I think it’s a fabulous idea, thank you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
It’s an anticlimactic return that feels more intended to scrub the remaining tarnish from her image than it does to induct her back into Vanderpump’s fold.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
Papa talked him out of volunteering; Woody waited for the army to induct him.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
The Gorsedd inducts new members each year who have contributed to Welsh life.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
The foundation — which inducts artists into the hall of fame and was the organization behind the creation of its affiliated museum in Cleveland — made the announcement in a brief statement released Saturday.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2023
The Toy Hall of Fame inducts a new class of toys each year in a ceremony at The Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is housed.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2022
Jackson Browne inducts singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin; blues legend Buddy Guy is inducted by old friend and fellow blues icon Jimmie Vaughan, and Sean Penn inducts Lyle Lovett.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2019
Figaro playfully inducts him into the new existence.
From A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music by Henry Edward Krehbiel
In 1999, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; in 2001, into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; and in 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Then over the weekend, the big one: up to seaside Newport, R.I., where he’ll be formally inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“It’s crazy when Phil Spector produces your record and you still don’t have a top ten record,” Eddie Vedder mentioned when he inducted the Ramones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
After retiring from playing in 1983, he went on to serve on the committee of Wolves' former players association and was inducted into the club's hall of fame in 2023.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Every drüskelle in history has been inducted into the order through the same ceremony since Djel anointed the first of us.”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
“There are few finer songwriters, male or female, that have ever lived,” said the pop singer Pink in her 2022 speech inducting Parton into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
"We've added over 100 aircraft, nearly completed the refit of legacy narrowbodies, and begun inducting widebodies with new interiors. At the same time, we've laid critical infrastructure... to support our long-term ambitions," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
I imagine as well it’s a heavy thing for the artists and families inducting people they have lost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
When it came to Fogerty, Springsteen didn’t mince words while inducting one of American music’s most prolific singer-songwriters.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2025
"Look and see, ladies," he said, inducting them into the dining-room: "there's the room, there's the table laid for heighteen, and I defy you to squeege in more."
From A Little Dinner at Timmin's by William Makepeace Thackeray
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.
