commencement

noun com·mence·ment \ kə-ˈmen(t)s-mənt \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Examples: commencement in a Sentence

Definition of commencement

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.

See commencement defined for English-language learners

See commencement defined for kids

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 of commencement from the Web

Recognizing the importance of its doctorate-granting role, the institute held its 25th graduate commencement last year with a keynote speech by Gerald Chan, a biomedical billionaire and Scripps board member.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Scripps Research ranked in top 10 for chemistry and biology," 30 Mar. 2018
Stephens College just held our 2018 commencement - an annual ritual of unbridled optimism and familial joy.

— kansascity, "Jean Paul Bradshaw," 30 June 2018
So the couple scheduled their wedding for the weekend before commencement.

— hillary davis, latimes.com, "After 50 years, Newport couple’s love is frozen in time — and so is their wedding cake," 27 June 2018
On Monday, May 14, Emory University recognized and honored Hossain at its commencement and Goizueta Business School ceremonies.

— fiza pirani, ajc, "Emory University honors student who died for friends in 2016 terror attack," 20 June 2018
Last month, Hill gave Rutgers University's spring commencement address.

— jessica campisi and saeed ahmed, CNN, "Anita Hill on #MeToo: 'I didn't have a hashtag'," 11 June 2018
A few days before commencement, Barber gained one more well-wisher when a reporter called Judge Trosch to check details of the court case.

— ann doss helms, charlotteobserver, "He was suspended, then things got worse. But this CMS teen never gave up.," 7 June 2018
The eighth grade class of the Meyer Academy had their commencement class on May 17 at the school with students Josephine Berenson and Jessica Lickstein selected as valedictorian and salutatorian respectively.

— marvin glassman, Jewish Journal, "Palm Beach County Jewish schools have commencement ceremonies," 6 June 2018
Worth noting is that there were no serious college commencement protests this year.

— daniel henninger, WSJ, "Trump 7, Eagles 0," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commencement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.