commencement

noun

com·​mence·​ment kə-ˈmen(t)s-mənt 

1

: an act, instance, or time of commencing

They awaited the commencement of the trial.

2

a

: the ceremonies or the day for conferring degrees or diplomas

A Nobel Prize winner will speak at the commencement.

b

: the period of activities at this time

Commencement will kick off with a family reception followed by a banquet.

Synonyms

• alpha
• baseline
• beginning
• birth
• dawn
• day one
• genesis
• get-go
• git-go
• inception
• incipience
• incipiency
• kickoff
• launch
• morning
• nascence
• nascency
• onset
• outset
• start
• threshold

Examples of commencement in a Sentence

A poet will speak at the commencement.

there was a large turnout at the commencement of the conference, but the numbers dwindled as it progressed

Recent Examples on the Web

On Thursday, Trinity Gas Storage announced commencement of operations at its 24 bcf (billion cubic feet) storage unit located near Carthage in East Texas, about 160 miles southeast of Dallas. —David Blackmon, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

In theory, TikTok could announce the commencement of negotiations with a potential buyer and urge President Joe Biden to grant the 90-day extension before the ban takes effect, experts said. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2025

Kotb also gave the commencement address at Tulane in 2016. —Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 10 Jan. 2025

In 2018, 2001 Dartmouth graduate Mindy Kaling returned to campus to give a hilarious commencement address. —Diana Pearl, People.com, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see commence

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

commencement

noun

com·​mence·​ment kə-ˈmen(t)s-mənt 

1

: an act, instance, or time of commencing

2

: the ceremonies or the day for presenting degrees or diplomas to graduates of a school or college