institutional

adjective

in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: of or relating to an institution

institutional knowledge

2

: characteristic of or appropriate to institutions

bland institutional cooking

institutional green walls

institutionally adverb

Examples of institutional in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This year’s edition, opening September 5, will feature 28 pavilions including 16 national pavilions and 11 institutional participants, with one institution presenting two pavilions. — Vivienne Chow, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026

The key to this idea is that institutional traders and companies invested in sports will use the FSPI to hedge risk. — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

But the legislation contains no provision restraining increases in state and institutional funding for athletics, said Amy Privette Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. — David A. Lieb, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

Central to the reorganization is an institutional separation between standard setting and conformity assessment—the process used to determine whether a product, facility or company satisfies those standards. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1617, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing institutional

• anti-institutional
• institutional racism
• inter-institutional
• multi-institutional

Rhymes for institutional

• attributional
• constitutional
• convolutional
• distributional
• involutional
• substitutional
• interinstitutional
• noninstitutional
• unconstitutional