graduation

noun

grad·​u·​a·​tion ˌgra-jə-ˈwā-shən 

1

: a mark on an instrument or vessel indicating degrees or quantity

also : these marks

2

a

: the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma

b

: commencement

3

: arrangement in degrees or ranks

Synonyms

• hierarchy
• ladder
• ordering
• ranking
• scale

Examples of graduation in a Sentence

He joined the navy after graduation.

We had a party to celebrate her graduation from high school.

They took lots of pictures at their son's graduation.

Recent Examples on the Web

After graduation in 1985, Troost landed a tenure-track job at Washington & Jefferson College, a small liberal-arts college near Pittsburgh. —Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024

After graduation, Morgan worked in Silicon Valley at a startup called Tamatem, later meeting Lichtenstein at a tech conference. —Rachel Brodsky, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024

The results were transformative: dramatic improvements in four-year graduation rates, first-year retention, enrollment, and more. —Charles L. Welch, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

Policymakers and pundits had raised concerns that students would rack up a bunch of debt and then try to get rid of it after graduation. —Annie Nova, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

graduation

noun

grad·​u·​a·​tion ˌgraj-ə-ˈwā-shən 

1

: a mark or the marks on an instrument or container indicating degrees or quantity

2

a

: an act or process of graduating

b

: the ceremony marking the completion by a student of a course of study at a school or college : commencement

3

: arrangement in degrees or ranks