Definition of institution

• n. - The act or process of instituting; as: (a) Establishment; foundation; enactment; as, the institution of a school.
• n. - Instruction; education.
• n. - The act or ceremony of investing a clergyman with the spiritual part of a benefice, by which the care of souls is committed to his charge.
• n. - That which instituted or established
• n. - Established order, method, or custom; enactment; ordinance; permanent form of law or polity.
• n. - An established or organized society or corporation; an establishment, especially of a public character, or affecting a community; a foundation; as, a literary institution; a charitable institution; also, a building or the buildings occupied or used by such organization; as, the Smithsonian Institution.
• n. - Anything forming a characteristic and persistent feature in social or national life or habits.
• n. - That which institutes or instructs; a textbook; a system of elements or rules; an institute.