institution

Meanings

Plural: institutions

Noun

• an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
• an establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated
• a custom that for a long time has been an important feature of some group or society
  • "the institution of marriage"
  • "the institution of slavery"
  • "he had become an institution in the theater"
• the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
• a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person
• A custom or practice of a society or community.
• A long established and respected organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work.
• The building or buildings which house such an organization.
• Ellipsis of mental institution.
• Any facility where people (especially those who are mentally or physically disabled or sick, or who are prisoners) are committed (confined), where their freedom to leave is restricted.
• Any long established and respected place or business.
• A person long established in a place, position, or field.
• The act of instituting something.
• The act by which a bishop commits a cure of souls to a priest.
• That which institutes or instructs, particularly a textbook or system of elements or rules.
• Ellipsis of correctional institution.

Synonyms

asylum, creation, establishment, foundation, founding, initiation, innovation, insane asylum, instauration, introduction, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, origination, psychiatric hospital

Related Words

institute, institutional, institutionalism, institutionalist