institution
/ˌɪn.stɪˈtu.ʃən/noun
institution is spelled I-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N. The wrong spelling people search most is insitution: about 50 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 63 of all searches for the word. Institution is a noun meaning “A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public…”. The plural of institution is institutions.
How many letters and syllables are in institution?
| Letters | 11: I-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 26 times per million words; the 3,558th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, insitution, about 50 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell institution?
Institution is spelled I-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 63 of the searches for institution in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is institution?
Institution appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce institution?
- /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/
- /ˌɪn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃən/
- US /ˌɪn.stɪˈtu.ʃən/
Institution has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-institution.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with institution?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as institution from its last stressed vowel (/uʃən/):
- distribution
- contribution
- pollution
- prosecution
- persecution
- dissolution
- substitution
- restitution
- dilution
- Confucian
- destitution
- Rosicrucian
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of institution
- institutions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does institution mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work.
The University of the South Pacific is the only internationally accredited institution of higher education in Oceania.
- 2
A custom or practice of a society or community.
The institution of marriage is present in many cultures but its details vary widely across them.
- 3
The building or buildings which house such an organization.
He's been in an institution since the crash.
- 4
informalA mental institution.
- 5
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.
- 6
informalAny long established and respected place or business.
Over time, the local pub has become something of an institution.
- 7
informalA person long established in a place, position, or field.
She's not just any old scholar; she is an institution.
- 8
The act of instituting something.
The institution of higher speed limits was a popular move but increased the severity of crashes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate institution?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of institution: Inst., inst..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Institution in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense established organisation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | institution |
| German | Institution |
| Portuguese | instituição |
| Spanish | institución |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does institution come from?
From Middle English institucioun, from Old French institution, from Latin institūtiō, from instituō (“to set up”), from in- (“in, on”) + statuō (“to set up, establish”). Equivalent to institute + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).