commencementcom‧mence‧ment /kəˈmensmənt/ AWL noun formal 
Examples
the commencement of building work► see thesaurus at beginning2[countable, uncountable] American English a ceremony at which university, college, or high school students receive their diplomas SYN graduation
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Colin Powell was asked to give the commencement address.
- An allocation plan should be given to each student at the commencement of training, setting out the holiday periods.
- At the commencement of the tournament it was made clear that referees had been instructed to apply Laws 18 and 19.
- Contrary to many press reports, however, there was only one, unified, commencement.
- Efforts will therefore continue to find a suitable person before the commencement of next term.
- Except in divorce proceedings, commencement by petition is now very rare.
- It follows that one always knows the commencement date of a Community regulation without going outside the text of the regulation itself.
- This then was the works at the commencement of the 1914-18 war.
- Traditionally, societies have specified an age as being appropriate for marriage or union formation and the commencement of family building.
THESAURUS► beginning
Collocations the first part of something such as a story, event, or period of time: · The beginning of the movie is very violent.· Let’s go back to the beginning.
► start the beginning of something, or the way something begins: · Tomorrow marks the start of the presidential election campaign.· It was not a good start to the day.· The runners lined up for the start of the race.
► commencement formal the beginning of something – used especially in official contexts: · the commencement of the academic year· the commencement of the contract
► origin the point from which something starts to exist: · He wrote a book about the origins of the universe.· The tradition has its origins in medieval times.
► the onset of something the time when something bad begins, such as illness, old age, or cold weather: · the onset of winter· An active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases common to aging.
► dawn literary the beginning of an important period of time in history: · People have worshipped gods since the dawn of civilization.
► birth the beginning of something important that will change many people’s lives: · the birth of democracy in South Africa· the birth of the environmental movement
WORD SETS► CollegeAA, nounacademia, nounacademic, adjectiveacademic, nounacademy, nounalum, nounalumna, nounalumni, nounalumnus, nounassistant professor, nounAssociate of Arts, nounassociate professor, nounaudit, verbBA, nounbachelor's degree, nounBig Man on Campus, nounblue book, nounbrother, nounBSc, nounbursar, nounbursary, nouncampus, nounCantab, chair, nounchancellery, nounchancellor, nounclass, nouncoed, nouncommencement, nouncommunity college, nounconservatoire, nounconservatory, nounconvocation, nouncourse, nouncredit, nouncum laude, adverbdean, noundean's list, noundiploma, noundissertation, noundoctor, noundoctoral, adjectivedoctorate, nounDoctor of Philosophy, noundon, noundorm, noundormitory, noundouble first, noundown, adverbelective, nounexaminer, nounextension, nounextramural, adjectivefaculty, nounfinancial aid, nounfirst class, noungrad, noungrad school, noungraduate, noungraduate, verbgraduate, adjectivegraduate school, noungraduation, nounGRE, nounGreek, nounhall, nounhall of residence, nounhaze, verbhigher education, nounhomecoming, nounhonor roll, nounhonours degree, nounintercollegiate, adjectiveintramural, adjectiveIvy League, the, adjectivejoint honours, nounjunior college, nounlectureship, nounLLB, nounLLD, nounLLM, nounMA, nounmagna cum laude, adjectivemajor, nounMaster of Arts, nounMaster of Science, nounmaster's, nounmaster's degree, nounmatriculate, verbmature student, nounMBA, nounMEd, nounmedic, nounmedical school, nounMFA, nounmidterm, nounMilitary Academy, nounminor, nounMLitt, nounmortarboard, nounMPhil, nounM.Sc., nounOpen University, the, option, nounoral, nounOxbridge, nounPhD, nounPhi Beta Kappa, nounpledge, nounpledge, verbpoly, nounpolytechnic, nounpost doctoral, adjectivepost-grad, nounpostgraduate, nounpostgraduate, adjectivepractical, nounprof, nounprofessor, nounprofessorial, adjectiveprofessorship, nounProvost, nounqualified, adjectivequarter, nounrag, nounread, verbreadership, nounredbrick, adjectiverush, verbrush, nounsandwich course, nounschool, nounsemester, nounseminar, nounseminary, nounsenate, nounsenior, nounsingle honours, nounsophomore, nounsorority, nounspring break, nounstate university, nounstudent union, nounsubject, nounsumma cum laude, adverbsummer school, nounsurvey course, nounsyllabus, nountech, nountechnical college, nountenure, nountermly, adjectivetertiary education, nountheological college, nounthesis, nounthird, nounthird class, nountutor, nountutorial, nountutorial, adjective2.1, nountwo-two, nounU., undergraduate, noununi, nounUniv., university, nounupperclassman, nounupperclasswoman, nounvac, nounvacation, nounvarsity, nounvice-chancellor, nounvisiting professor, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► date
Word family· Some courses have an early commencement date.· It follows that one always knows the commencement date of a Community regulation without going outside the text of the regulation itself.· The estimated commencement date is 1983, with an anticipated construction period of approximately 2 years.
WORD FAMILYnouncommencementverbcommence
1[uncountable] the beginning of somethingcommencement of the commencement of building work► see thesaurus at beginning2[countable, uncountable] American English a ceremony at which university, college, or high school students receive their diplomas SYN graduation