usher in

verb

ushered in; ushering in; ushers in

transitive verb

1

: to serve to bring into being

a discovery that ushered in a period of change

2

: to mark or observe the beginning of

ushered in the new year with merrymaking

Choose the Right Synonym for usher in

begin, commence, start, initiate, inaugurate, usher in mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation.

begin, start, and commence are often interchangeable.

begin, opposed to end, is the most general.

begin a trip

began dancing

start, opposed to stop, applies especially to first actions, steps, or stages.

the work started slowly

commence can be more formal or bookish than begin or start.

commence firing

commenced a conversation

initiate implies taking a first step in a process or series that is to continue.

initiated diplomatic contacts

inaugurate suggests a beginning of some formality or notion of significance.

the discovery of penicillin inaugurated a new era in medicine

usher in is somewhat less weighty than inaugurate.

ushered in a period of economic decline

Examples of usher in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once everything is clean and my TV presets are set to football for easy channel changing, the finishing touch is finding a few accessories to help usher in the season. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 20 Sep. 2026

Spring and summer gave us poppy colorways like butter yellow and blue and pink and green, but fall is ushering in a slightly moodier palette. — Amanda Le, InStyle, 19 Sep. 2026

It was hoped that the plant, envisioned as the first of three, would provide 15% of the island’s electricity needs and usher in a new era of energy security for the communist nation. — Juan Carlos López, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026

Kimmswick ushers in the fall season with its Apple Butter Festival on the last full weekend of October. — Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1