Definition of: institution

(in′stə·t′shən, -ty′-) noun
1. That which is instituted or established; an established order, principle, law, or usage as an element of organized society or of civilization: the institution of chivalry.
2. A corporate body or establishment instituted and organized for an educational, medical, charitable, or similar purpose, or the building occupied by such a corporate body: the Smithsonian Institution.
3. The act of instituting, establishing, or setting on foot: institution of an investigation.
4. Eccl. a The investment of a clergyman by a competent authority with the spiritualities of his office: contrasted with induction, which confers the temporalities, b The establishment of a sacrament, especially of the Eucharist. c That part of the ritual in baptism or the Eucharist at which the words used by Christ in establishing the sacrament are recited.
5. Law The formal designation by one person of another to be his heir.
6. Colloq. A well–established custom, object, or person: The postman was one of the institutions of the place.
7. Obs. Instruction, or a book of instruction. [<OF <L institutio, -onis]