orientation

American  

[awr-ee-uhn-tay-shuhn, -en-, ohr-] / ˌɔr i ənˈteɪ ʃən, -ɛn-, ˌoʊr- /

noun

• orientations
  plural

1. the act or process of orienting.

2. the state of being oriented.

3. an introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like.

   New employees receive two days of orientation.

4. Psychology, Psychiatry. the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.

5. one's position in relation to true north, to points on the compass, or to a specific place or object.

6. the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.

7. Chemistry.

   1. the relative positions of certain atoms or groups, especially in aromatic compounds.

   2. the determination of the position of substituted atoms or groups in a compound.

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orientation British  

/ ˌɔːrɪɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of orienting or the state of being oriented

2. position or positioning with relation to the points of the compass or other specific directions

3. the adjustment or alignment of oneself or one's ideas to surroundings or circumstances

4. Also called: orientation course.

   1. a course, programme, lecture, etc, introducing a new situation or environment

   2. ( as modifier )

      an orientation talk

5. psychol the knowledge of one's own temporal, social, and practical circumstances in life

6. basic beliefs or preferences

   sexual orientation

7. biology the change in position of the whole or part of an organism in response to a stimulus, such as light

8. chem the relative dispositions of atoms, ions, or groups in molecules or crystals

9. the siting of a church on an east-west axis, usually with the altar at the E end

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonorientation
  noun
• orientational
  adjective
• orientative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orientations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of orientation

First recorded in 1830–40; orientate + -ion

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Explanation

Orientation is all about the direction you're facing. A house can have an east-facing orientation. Freshman orientation starts you off in a good direction. Your political orientation means your political outlook. Orientation is a relatively new word that was derived in the 19th century from orient, which means to point yourself in a specific direction. Hiking with a map and a compass is sometimes called orienteering, referring to hikers' use of those tools to orient themselves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orientation orientations

Writing new data usually involves applying an external magnetic field to change the orientation of these regions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

He’s being given the orientation: Here’s where we keep the pitchforks.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

“This is about modernity. It is epic in sweep. It’s the whole picture. Don’t miss the forest because of the orientation of the trees.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

The camera’s orientation on the coop offered it a line of sight to the movements of Israeli security forces along the nearby border with Lebanon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

“Yeah. I hear this orientation thing lasts forever,” Benton added.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

"The Fifa World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events," it said in a statement.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Their experiments have so far involved radium nuclei that sit in random orientations inside each molecule at high temperature.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2025

Inside a nucleus, each proton and neutron behaves like a tiny magnet, and their orientations depend on how these particles are arranged.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2025

“It’s weird to think about a life in the vertical as opposed to the horizontal,” Nordwind said with a laugh, referring to the respective orientations of videos on TikTok and YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025

Axis orientations affected the rate of spread of crops and livestock, and possibly also of writing, wheels, and other inventions.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• direction
• location

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