introduction

[in-truh-duhk-shuhn]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• reintroduction noun
• self-introduction noun
• subintroduction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of introduction¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The introduction of tariffs, however, slowed those requests, according to an analysis by economists at the Swiss Re Institute.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Making his season debut after sitting out the opener while rounding into form from a knee injury, Dailey received the loudest ovation during player introductions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An introduction from his brother-in-law led to a job with a company selling mortgages.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mr Archer said the man explained that he remembered his mother's street address and her sister - who was involved in their introduction - and that she had two children at the time.

Read more on BBC

He wrote introductions and appreciations, edited anthologies and reissues, taught in writing programs, recommended candidates for artist residencies, advised the Guggenheim Foundation on fellowship recipients and informally brokered the advancement of innumerable authors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.