integration

American  

[in-ti-grey-shuhn] / ˌɪn tɪˈgreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of combining into an integral whole.

   Synonyms:

   combination

2. an act or instance of integrating a racial, religious, or ethnic group.

3. an act or instance of integrating an organization, place of business, school, etc.

4. Mathematics. the operation of finding the integral of a function or equation, especially solving a differential equation.

5. behavior, as of an individual, that is in harmony with the environment.

6. Psychology. the organization of the constituent elements of the personality into a coordinated, harmonious whole.

7. Genetics. coadaptation.

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integration British  

/ ˌɪntɪˈɡreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of combining or adding parts to make a unified whole

2. the act of amalgamating a racial or religious group with an existing community

3. the combination of previously racially segregated social facilities into a nonsegregated system

4. psychol organization into a unified pattern, esp of different aspects of the personality into a hierarchical system of functions

5. the assimilation of nutritive material by the body during the process of anabolism

6. maths an operation used in calculus in which the integral of a function or variable is determined; the inverse of differentiation

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integration Scientific  

/ ĭn′tĭ-grā′shən /

1. In calculus, the process of calculating an integral. Integration is the inverse of differentiation, since integrating a given function results in a function whose derivative is the given function. Integration is used in the calculation of such things as the areas and volumes of irregular shapes and solids.

2. Compare differentiation

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integration Cultural  

1. The free association of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds (see ethnicity); a goal of the civil rights movement to overcome policies of segregation that have been practiced in the United States.

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Discover More

Those favoring integration of schools by such forceful means as busing or affirmative action have frequently argued that integration of schools will lead to integration of society as a whole. (See separate but equal.)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-integration
  noun
• nonintegration
  noun
• anti-integration
  adjective
• integrationist
  noun
• de-integration
  noun
• prointegration
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of integration

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin integrātiōn-, stem of integrātiō “renewal,” equivalent to integrāt(us) “renewed, restored” (past participle of integrāre; see integrate ( def. )) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Integration occurs when separate people or things are brought together, like the integration of students from all of the district's elementary schools at the new middle school, or the integration of snowboarding on all ski slopes. You may know the word differentiate, meaning "set apart." Integrate is its opposite. When you integrate things, you bring them together. So integration is the act of doing just that, like the integration of African-American students into mixed-race schools after segregation was outlawed in the 1950s, or the integration of computers in businesses that had previously only used paper-based record-keeping.

Example Sentences

Analyst Sean Steuart says the deal “is not thesis-changing but improves CFP’s cash flow profile, provides vertical integration with existing sawmills in Western Canada, and offers upside as utilization rates at the facility improve.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Sancho, whose integration was delayed by an ear infection that led to him being in hospital, preferred to be on the left.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Meanwhile it also names, as an actual competitive advantage, “Grok’s deep integration with X,” the former Twitter.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

The idea of "halfway" integration is increasingly being discussed.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Renaissance in the classroom: Arts integration and meaningful Learning.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• assimilation