Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

introduction

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

noun

  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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Related Words

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

  • reintroduction noun
  • self-introduction noun
  • subintroduction noun

Etymology

Origin of introduction

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

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.

Since its introduction, fifteen dissertations and final theses at Freie Universität have focused on the topic, along with seven additional dissertations completed by researchers in other countries.

From Science Daily

It was his introduction to the industry, giving him proximity to executives and stars like Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since its introduction, monthly podcast consumption on the platform has nearly doubled.

From Los Angeles Times

That ruling, combined with the August introduction of Nano Banana, boosted Google’s shares.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ms. Shaw often begins her songs with a first-person introduction, presumably delivered in character.

From The Wall Street Journal