Meaning & use
commencement address
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformalAmerican
A formal speech given at a graduation ceremony, usually by a notable person, to congratulate and advise the graduating students.
Grammar: Countable; can be used with 'a' or in the plural: 'deliver a commencement address', 'two commencement addresses'.
Patterns
- give a commencement address
- deliver a commencement address
- at a commencement address
The university invited a famous author to give the commencement address this year.
Her commencement address focused on the importance of lifelong learning.
He mentioned his family in his commencement address and thanked his parents.
Word forms
| plural | commencement addresses |
|---|
Common combinations
- deliver a commencement address
- The president will deliver the commencement address at the ceremony.
- give a commencement address
- She was honored to give the commencement address at her alma mater.
- commencement address to the graduates
- His commencement address to the graduates was both funny and moving.
- keynote commencement address
- The keynote commencement address was given by a Nobel laureate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- graduation speech
- More common in everyday British and American English; 'commencement address' is more formal and typically used in official university contexts.
- valedictory
- A farewell speech, often by the top student at a graduation; it is usually shorter and given by a student, not a guest speaker.
Word family
- commencement noun
- The graduation ceremony itself, or a beginning.
- address noun
- A formal speech.
Commonly confused: commencement address or commencement?
commencement address vs commencement
In American English, 'commencement' means the graduation ceremony; in British English it means a beginning. Don't confuse the two.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'commencement address' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A commencement address is a formal speech given at a graduation ceremony, so 'delivered a commencement address to the graduating class' fits. Option 0 is wrong because it happens at the beginning of the semester, not at graduation. Option 2 is wrong because a commencement address is not a personal letter. Option 3 is wrong because it is not typically something you just listen to on the radio.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commencement address”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.