orientation

noun

ori·en·ta·tion | \ ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shən

, -ˌen-\

Definition of orientation

1a : the act or process of orienting or of being oriented These materials are for the orientation of new employees.

b : the state of being oriented the orientation of the main altar of the church broadly : arrangement, alignment the orientation of molecules

2a : a usually general or lasting direction of thought, inclination, or interest the fundamentally human orientation of Greek art— Bruce Cole This company has a decidedly conservative orientation.

b : a person's sexual identity or self-identification as bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, etc. : the state of being bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, etc. : sexual orientation

3 : change of position by organs, organelles, or organisms in response to external stimulus The plant's orientation is toward light.

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Examples of orientation in a Sentence

patients identifying themselves as homosexual or bisexual in orientation He makes no secret of his orientation. The organization has a decidedly conservative orientation. Her later works were more introspective in orientation. These materials are used for the orientation of new employees. New students need to go through a short orientation before they begin classes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Taylor was scheduled to make his first visit to that very center, for orientation, on April 10. — Théoden Janes, charlotteobserver, "His heart stopped. How it got working again is an amazing story. Was it luck, or God?," 28 May 2018 Smith and Akins were among the first groups to arrive in Indianapolis for orientation Wednesday and will start their bench press drills Friday, followed by their field skills testing on Saturday. — Shannon Green, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Shaquem Griffin, former UCF teammates look to make splash at NFL Combine," 1 Mar. 2018 His roommate reported him missing the next morning when Solomon did not show up for orientation. — Max Kutner, Newsweek, "Despite Beau Solomon Death, Few Students Die On Study Abroad," 6 July 2016 The mission team switched on MASCOT’s mobility system, shifting the robot’s position and placing it in a much more favorable orientation. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Japanese spacecraft drops box-shaped robot on asteroid’s surface," 3 Oct. 2018 Keep in mind that, as Dean points out, any climbing gym should put new climbers through an orientation to learn basic safety measures. — Leah Prinzivalli, SELF, "Why You Should Try Bouldering Like Brie Larson," 7 Jan. 2019 In May 2013, the second of Kepler's four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed, bringing an end to the observatory's original mission. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "NASA's Kepler Planet-Hunting Space Telescope Wakes Up Again," 13 Oct. 2018 After her maternity leave, there was no orientation on the return to work, and no explanation of the hospital’s lactation resources, lactation rooms, or how to access them. — Jenna Sauers, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why Women Really Quit Breastfeeding," 17 July 2018 Destiny had gone to freshman orientation at the University of Texas at Austin, set her schedule to take 16 credits in the fall and was essentially ready to start her college life when her world came crashing down, the Dallas Morning News reports. — Breanna Edwards, The Root, "High School Valedictorian Stripped of Ranking Due to an Administrative Error, but She Thinks It's Retaliation for Critical Graduation Speech," 2 July 2018

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