introduction

American  

[in-truh-duhk-shuhn] / ˌɪn trəˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

• introductions
  plural

1. the act of introducing or the state of being introduced.

2. a formal personal presentation of one person to another or others.

3. a preliminary part, as of a book, musical composition, or the like, leading up to the main part.

4. an elementary treatise.

   an introduction to botany.

5. an act or instance of inserting.

6. something introduced.

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introduction British  

/ ˌɪntrəˈdʌkʃən /

noun

1. the act of introducing or fact of being introduced

2. a presentation of one person to another or others

3. a means of presenting a person to another person, group, etc, such as a letter of introduction or reference

4. a preliminary part, as of a book, speech, etc

5. music

   1. an instrumental passage preceding the entry of a soloist, choir, etc

   2. an opening passage in a movement or composition that precedes the main material

6. something that has been or is introduced, esp something that is not native to an area, country, etc

7. a basic or elementary work of instruction, reference, etc

8. logic (qualified by the name of an operation) a syntactic rule specifying the conditions under which a formula or statement containing the specified operator may be derived from others

   conjunction-introduction

   negation-introduction

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Usage

What is an introduction? The introduction is the first section of an essay. It presents, or introduces, the essay topic and includes a thesis statement. Students are usually taught to write an essay in three parts, with the first part being the introduction, followed by the body and ending with a conclusion. The introduction is often considered to be the most important part of the essay because it summarizes the essay’s topic and introduces the thesis statement. The thesis statement presents the specific argument the essay will make or the main point the reader should take away. Outside of essays, introductions are also used in articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, research papers, and other types of writing to entice someone into reading the whole piece.

Synonym Usage

Introduction, foreword, preface refer to material given at the front of a book to explain or introduce it to the reader. A foreword is part of the front matter and is usually written by someone other than the author, often an authority on the subject of the book. A preface is the author's own statement, and often includes acknowledgments. It follows the foreword (if there is one) and is also part of the front matter. The introduction is always by the author. It may be extensive and is usually printed as part of the text.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reintroduction
  noun
• self-introduction
  noun
• subintroduction
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• introductions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of introduction

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English introduccion, from Latin intrōductiōn- (stem of intrōductiō ). See introduce, -tion

Explanation

An introduction refers to a beginning — maybe presenting someone new to a group, or inserting a new idea into a project. In a piece of writing, the introduction makes clear to the reader the text's purpose. The noun introduction comes from the Latin verb introducere, meaning "to lead in." This “leading in” might be the formal introduction of a speaker, or the speaker's own introduction to his remarks. Or it might be the insertion of a new and different idea, as in British politician Lord Hailsham's remark, "The introduction of religious passion into politics is the end of honest politics, and the introduction of politics into religion is the prostitution of true religion."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

introduction introductions

Nvidia’s quarterly earnings announcement has been a major stock-market event ever since the artificial-intelligence boom began in earnest with the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

The market fall was preceded by the introduction in May of South Korea’s first single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

"From my point of view, this is an industrial revolution, almost like the introduction of engines or, back then, the steam engine," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

The president announced on Monday he would delay the introduction of a raft of new import taxes on various Canadian goods for three days as negotiations over a trade deal continue.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

I thumbed through the pages, back to the introduction.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

So he paid up and the introductions began.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Fashion IPOs have been sparse since the boom of 2021, which saw the public-market introductions of Allbirds, Rent the Runway, Poshmark and Lulu’s Fashion Lounge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

They can pursue certifications tied directly to the role they want, shadow professionals, undertake projects that produce work samples and contact alumni for advice and introductions.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

She did not take the role lightly, Ziering said, noting she watched cuts and took notes, made introductions and brought people to screenings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

With the introductions disposed of, energy seemed to desert him.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• addition
• debut
• establishment
• inauguration
• influx
• initiation
• installation
• launch
• opening
• preface
• presentation