commitment ceremony

noun

: a ceremony in which two people publicly avow their commitment to each other in a union that is similar to a marriage but without legal status

Summer vacation on Cape Cod: Craig and I sit in our favorite restaurant, celebrating the third anniversary of our commitment ceremony.

—Sam Abel, Parenting, October 2000

Starting next month, the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times will publish reports of same-sex commitment ceremonies … the newspaper announced yesterday.

—The New York Times, 18 Aug. 2002

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

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