Meaning & use
incorporation
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
The act of including something as a part of a larger whole.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and followed by of: the incorporation of new ideas into the plan.
Patterns
- the incorporation of something into something
- incorporation of something
The incorporation of student feedback improved the course.
The architect praised the incorporation of natural light into the design.
Teachers welcomed the incorporation of technology into lessons.
noununcountablebusinesslegal
The legal process of setting up a business as a company that is treated as separate from its owners.
Grammar: Used without an article in legal and business contexts: incorporation takes a few weeks.
Patterns
- certificate of incorporation
- incorporation of a company
The founders filed the papers for incorporation in Delaware.
Incorporation protects the owners from personal liability for company debts.
She paid a fee to complete the incorporation of her small business.
Common combinations
- certificate of incorporation
- The lawyer kept the certificate of incorporation in a safe.
- articles of incorporation
- The articles of incorporation state the company's purpose.
- incorporation of something into something
- The incorporation of local dishes into the menu boosted sales.
- date of incorporation
- The date of incorporation is printed on the registration form.
- seek incorporation
- The two towns decided to seek incorporation as a single city.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inclusion
- Inclusion simply means being part of a group or list, while incorporation suggests blending something into a structure so it becomes part of it.
- integration
- Integration stresses making parts work together smoothly, whereas incorporation focuses on the act of adding.
- merger
- A merger joins two organizations into one, while incorporation either adds an element to a whole or legally creates a company.
- inclusion
- Inclusion is also used for people being welcomed in a group, which is not the usual sense of incorporation.
Opposites
Word family
- incorporate verb
- to include something as part of a whole, or to form a legal company
- incorporated adjective
- formed as a legal company, as in Inc.
- unincorporated adjective
- not legally formed as a company or town
- incorporator noun
- a person who forms a company
Commonly confused: incorporation or corporation?
incorporation vs corporation
A corporation is the company itself; incorporation is the process of making it or of adding something into a whole.
Practice
Which sentence uses incorporation in its business sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence is about legally forming a company. The others use the general sense of adding something into a whole.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incorporation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.