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• establishment
  establishment

  noun

  the act or an instance of establishing.
• Establishment
  Establishment

  noun

  a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook

establishment

American  

[ih-stab-lish-muhnt] / ɪˈstæb lɪʃ mənt /

noun

establishments plural

1. the act or an instance of establishing.

2. the state or fact of being established.

3. something established; a constituted order or system.

4. Often the Establishment

   1. the existing power structure in society; the dominant groups in society and their customs or institutions; institutional authority.

      The Establishment believes exploring outer space is worth any tax money spent.

   2. the dominant group in a field of endeavor, organization, etc..

      the literary Establishment.

5. a household; place of residence including its furnishings, grounds, etc.

6. a place of business together with its employees, merchandise, equipment, etc.

7. a permanent civil, military, or other force or organization.

8. an institution, as a school, hospital, etc.

9. the recognition by a state of a church as the state church.

10. the church so recognized, especially the Church of England.

11. Archaic. a fixed or settled income.

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establishment ¹ British  

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt /

noun

1. the act of establishing or state of being established

2. 1. a business organization or other large institution

   2. the place where a business is carried on

3. the staff and equipment of a commercial or other organization

4. the approved size, composition, and equipment of a military unit, government department, business division, etc, as formally promulgated

5. any large organization, institution, or system

6. a household or place of residence

7. a body of employees or servants

8. (modifier) belonging to or characteristic of the Establishment; orthodox or conservative

   the establishment view of history

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Establishment ² British  

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt /

noun

1. a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook

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Usage

What does establishment mean? Establishment commonly refers to the official start or founding of something, such as a law, business, or other organization, as in It has been 200 years since the establishment of this great nation. It is the noun form of the verb establish, which has many meanings but most commonly means to found, institute, or bring into being. Things that have been established are called establishments, especially businesses, as in I try to buy from local establishments whenever possible. Establishment is also used more specifically to refer collectively to the existing power structure in a society and its dominant institutions, as in That kind of radical thinking is frowned upon by the establishment. This use is often negative. It can also be used in a similar way to refer to the dominant group in a particular field, as in the medical establishment. In both of these cases, Establishment is often capitalized.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonestablishment
  noun
• reestablishment
  noun
• superestablishment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• establishments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of establishment

First recorded in 1475–85, and in 1920–25 establishment for def. 4a; establish + -ment

Explanation

Kids were more comfortable in school after the establishment of a no-tolerance bullying policy in the cafeteria. Establishment means setting up or something that has been set up. In the 1960s, the youth movement took on what they called "the establishment," by which they meant the way society was set up and organized. Their sentiments could be summed up in a word that is rumored to be one of the longest in the English language, if it actually exists: disestablishmentarianism.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

establishment Establishment establishments

Married to the legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee until his death in 2014, Quinn has functioned, at least since the 1980s, as the self-appointed spokeswoman of the nation’s permanent political establishment.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Rather than merely serving as an establishment where people are in and out the door, Turner said bookstores invite customers to stay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Crowds had first gathered spontaneously on Thursday morning in support of Fedorov, a tech-savvy young minister whose efforts to modernise the armed forces often put him at odds with the military establishment.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Sam Forstag, a 31-year-old union leader and former smokejumper - a person who parachutes in to fight forest fires - just won the Democratic nomination for Montana's 1st congressional district, defeating a more establishment candidate.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

And they were connected to people who wanted to overthrow that establishment: anarchists.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Wills, who is himself a Catholic, called the separation of church and state embodied in the First Amendment’s Establishment clause “a stunning innovation,” the one unique, genius thing about our nation’s founding document.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

Midlife Snoop is the Establishment, a company pillar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

This year, 4,000 pages of documents from the Atomic Weapons Establishment were declassified after a long Freedom of Information fight.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

Establishment support has coalesced around Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who is favored to take the seat in November.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

The blood was flown to a national laboratory in Belgium and to the English national laboratory, the Microbiological Research Establishment at Porton Down, in Wiltshire.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Between January 2020 and December 2025, California added 249,920 establishments and 580,862 jobs in healthcare and social assistance, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Two other Dana Point Harbor dining establishments will be relocating: Coco Bloom Coffee is moving to Newport Beach, and Frisby Cellars Winery will operate out of its location in Rancho Mission Viejo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

They said: "The council can confirm that no form of bullying, whether this be physical, verbal or emotional is accepted under any circumstances within our establishments."

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The reason for the separation between the businesses, Corley added, had to do with a defunct local law that forbade the two establishments existing under one umbrella.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Of the 113 establishments that had licenses to sell soft drinks in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the two that stuck to the law and did not become speakeasies went out of business.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• formation
• formulation
• founding
• inauguration
• installation
• institution