admission

noun

ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmi-shən How to pronounce admission (audio)
ad-
plural admissions
1
: an act of admitting : the fact or state of being admitted: such as
a
: the act of allowing something for consideration before a court
A small number of jurisdictions adhere to the position that a defendant may not complain on appeal about the admission of illegally obtained evidence … if the defendant gave testimony at trial admitting possession of that evidence.Wayne R. LaFave and Jerold H. Israel
b
: the right or permission to join or enter a place, a group, etc.
countries denied admission to NATO
c(1)
: the act or process of accepting someone as a student at a school
To a large degree, American education is organized for those who are already the best educated, a fact notoriously borne out in the college admissions process, where colleges compete for the top students and are rated by the percentage of these they attract.Gerald Graff
(2)
: the fact of being accepted as a student at a school
Competition for admission to these pre-K schools is so extreme that private counselors are frequently retained … to guide the parents through the application process.Jonathan Kozol
(3)
: someone who is so admitted
California State University will accept no new admissions for the spring semester of 2013 … as part of a drastic cost-cutting strategy to reduce enrollment by about 16,000 students next spring, officials said Monday.Nanette Asimov
d
: the act or process of accepting someone into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient
The patient was unconscious upon admission to the hospital.
also : someone who is so admitted
Many new admissions are discharged after a day's examination. Hanna L. Schussheim
2
: a fee paid for entering a place (such as a theater or museum)
a museum that offers reduced admission for children
3
a
: the granting of an argument or position not fully proved : the act of acknowledging something asserted
b
: acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true
c
: a revealing statement
an admission of failure
admissive adjective

Examples of admission in a Sentence

the admission of evidence in a court of law His statement was interpreted as an admission of failure. They opposed the admission of women into the club. Her injuries were serious enough to require hospital admission. a large number of hospital admissions The school's standards of admission are high. He submitted an application for admission to the school.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Overall, Florida’s RSV admissions, test positivity and ER visits decreased the week of Feb. 9-Feb. 15, state data show. Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025 The threat of tariffs helped to ease him out of office sooner rather than later, by Trudeau’s admission. Jeremy Lott, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025 Tauson is a powerful player who stands at 6 feet (183cm) and, by her own admission, has not always been a great mover. Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025 Learn about these experiences and more at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (admission 12 Canadian dollars, or about $8.50), founded in 1968 by the landscape painters and philanthropists Peter and Catharine Robb Whyte (their works are also shown). Cindy Hirschfeld, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for admission

Word History

Etymology

Middle English admyssion, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin admissiōn-, admissiō "controlled mating (of animals), admittance to an interview," from admittere "to admit entry 1" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of admission was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Admission.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admission. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmish-ən How to pronounce admission (audio)
ad-
1
: the act of admitting
especially : an admitting of something that has not been proved
an admission of guilt
2
: the right or permission to enter
standards of admission to a school
3
: the price of entrance

Medical Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmi-shən, ad- How to pronounce admission (audio)
: the act or process of accepting someone into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient
The patient was unconscious upon admission to the hospital.
also : someone who is so admitted
Many new admissions are discharged after a day's examination. Hanna L. Schussheim, The Washington Post

Legal Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion
1
: the act or process of admitting
admission into evidence
2
a
: a party's acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true

Note: In civil cases admissions are often agreed to and offered in writing to the court before trial as a method of reducing the number of issues to be proven at trial.

b
: a party's prior out-of-court statement or action that is inconsistent with his or her position at trial and that tends to establish guilt compare confession, declaration against interest at declaration

Note: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence an admission is not hearsay. Silence can sometimes be construed as an admission where a person would reasonably be expected to speak up.

More from Merriam-Webster on admission

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