inaugurate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make a formal beginning of; initiate; commence; begin.
The end of World War II inaugurated the era of nuclear power.
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to induct into office with formal ceremonies; install.
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to introduce into public use by some formal ceremony.
Airmail service between Washington, D.C., and New York City was inaugurated in 1918.
verb
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to commence officially or formally; initiate
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to place in office formally and ceremonially; induct
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to open ceremonially; dedicate formally
to inaugurate a factory
Usage
What does inaugurate mean? Inaugurate most generally means to formally or officially take action to begin something. Close synonyms are the verbs initiate and commence. More specifically, inaugurate means to officially induct someone into a position with a formal ceremony. A close synonym of this sense of the word is install. The noun inauguration refers to the process of inaugurating or a ceremony in which a person or thing is inaugurated. Things involving or related to inauguration can be described with the adjective inaugural. U. S. presidents are inaugurated—officially inducted into office and sworn in—on Inauguration Day, on which they usually give their inaugural address (speech). Inaugurate can also mean to introduce something into use with a formal ceremony. A new factory or public building might be inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony or a dedication ceremony, for example. In every sense of the word, inaugurate implies at least some formality. Its general sense—meaning to initiate or commence—is typically used in the context of events considered important, such as historical eras, as in The rise of the empire inaugurated a period of renewed warfare. Example: In the U. S., presidents are elected in November, but their terms don’t officially begin until they are inaugurated in January.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inaugurationnoun
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inauguratornoun
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preinaugurateverb (used with object)
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reinaugurateverb (used with object)
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inauguratoryadjective
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uninauguratedadjective
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well-inauguratedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inauguratesimple
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inauguratessimple
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have inauguratedperfect
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has inauguratedperfect
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am inauguratingprogressive
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are inauguratingprogressive
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is inauguratingprogressive
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have been inauguratingperfect progressive
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has been inauguratingperfect progressive
Past
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inauguratedsimple
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had inauguratedperfect
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was inauguratingprogressive
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were inauguratingprogressive
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had been inauguratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inaugurate
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin inaugurātus, past participle of inaugurāre “to consecrate by augury (a person chosen for priesthood or other office),” literally, “to take auguries”); see in- 2, augur 1, -ate 1
Explanation
To inaugurate means to start something, to give it a kick off. The opening day pep rally inaugurates the high school football season. Inaugurate comes from the Latin word augur, which means taking signs from birds, or telling the future. The Romans would always look for good omens to mark the beginning of something — a war, or a new emperor’s reign — so inaugurate became linked to new beginnings. While inaugurate has long been used in formal contexts, such as the swearing-in ceremony that inaugurates a President's term in office, the word is now also used casually. You might inaugurate your marathon training with a long run.
Vocabulary lists containing inaugurate
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The Namesake
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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.
See Examples For:
Finally, from 5,000 years ago, the Corded Ware people expanded out of the Russian steppe to inaugurate the European bronze age.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
To inaugurate his new enterprise, Woods commissioned a portrait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday afternoon inaugurate the five-day AI Impact Summit, which aims to declare a "shared roadmap for global AI governance and collaboration".
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
He launched his coup on 1 February 2021, the day Aung San Suu Kyi was due to inaugurate her new government.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
The nation’s capital city was getting ready to inaugurate a new president the following month.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The show inaugurates the new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
Some of AI’s top names, including OpenAI’s Chief Executive Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, are expected to be present in India’s capital when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the summit on Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Thursday, UC San Diego formally inaugurates the Human Milk Institute, the first academic institution in the U.S. devoted to a crucial element of human nutrition that science is, in many ways, only beginning to understand.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
The visit "inaugurates a path for restoring normal relationships between the two countries," Egypt's foreign ministry said in a simultaneous statement.
From Reuters ● Mar. 17, 2023
No more practical or tremendous revolution was ever sought in society, than that which this Woman's Rights Convention inaugurates.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Thursday's verdict concludes a four-year trial largely focused on maintenance of the bridge, which was inaugurated in 1967.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Cuban music lovers inaugurated a Beatles film festival, with fans in Italy, Russia and Greece finding their own ways for commemorating The Beatles’ special place in their lives.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Trump was 70 when he was first inaugurated in 2017, and 78 when he took office for a second time last year.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Chuck Sams, the last director of the National Park Service, stepped down the day Trump was inaugurated.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Washington had been threatening to retire even before he was inaugurated as president in 1789, and he had repeated the threat in 1792 prior to his reelection.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
At the ceremony inaugurating the museum, Kim, who was accompanied by Russian officials, praised his troops’ “noble sacrifices and heroic military feats.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini is inaugurating infrastructure every week.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
During his visit, Widodo is inaugurating several construction projects in Nusantara, including a water reservoir.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
Critics fault Mr Gandhi, the face of the party, for lacking the relentless campaigning of Prime Minister Modi, who frequently traverses the nation, addressing crowds and inaugurating projects worth millions of dollars.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2024
This time I’m inaugurating my patent leather shoes and a baby blue poplin dress with a little jacket to match.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
