commencement

noun [C/U]

/kəˈmens·mənt/

Definition

› fml the beginning of something: the Senate's commencement of closed-door deliberations › A commencement is also a ceremony at which students formally receive their diplomas (= documents to show they have successfully completed their studies).

(Definition of commencement noun from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Focus on the pronunciation of commencement

Our dictionaries

Browse the Thesaurus

“commencement” in other dictionaries

British English

Browse the Dictionary

Word of the Day

demur

to express disagreement or refuse to do something

Word of the Day ►

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.