graduation

noun

grad·​u·​a·​tion ˌgra-jə-ˈwā-shən 

1

: a mark on an instrument or vessel indicating degrees or quantity

also : these marks

2

a

: the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma

b

: commencement

3

: arrangement in degrees or ranks

Synonyms of graduation

• ladder
• hierarchy
• ranking
• scale
• series

Examples of graduation in a Sentence

He joined the navy after graduation.

We had a party to celebrate her graduation from high school.

They took lots of pictures at their son's graduation.

Recent Examples on the Web

Among those issues are whether credit hours transfer and whether courses from another school satisfy graduation requirements. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Nov. 2026

Drawing on publicly available data from IPEDS and College Scorecard, the list measured schools by student-faculty ratio and core expenditure per student, diversity, graduates’ earnings, graduation rate, transfer rate, and campus resources. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 12 Nov. 2026

Darren and his wife planned a small graduation party for their son and invited Randee’s ex-husband, who was a complete monster during their recent divorce. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 12 Nov. 2026

Krukoff shipped off right after graduation from forestry school. — Literary Hub, 12 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for graduation

• ablation
• aeration
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation

Kids Definition

graduation

noun

grad·​u·​a·​tion ˌgraj-ə-ˈwā-shən 

1

: a mark or the marks on an instrument or container indicating degrees or quantity

2

a

: an act or process of graduating

b

: the ceremony marking the completion by a student of a course of study at a school or college : commencement

3

: arrangement in degrees or ranks