graduation

The word “graduation” means the act of completing a degree or course of study. In plain terms, either finishing a course of study, the ceremony celebrating it, or the marks on a measuring scale.

“Graduation” is pronounced grad-yoo-AY-shuhn (/ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/ in IPA).

Here is “graduation” used in a sentence: “Her graduation from medical school took eight years of hard work.”

“Graduation” is a noun.

“Graduation” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Graduation” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the act of completing a degree or course of study.

Graduation is the act of completing a degree or course of study, while commencement is the ceremony that celebrates it. In American English the two words are often used interchangeably for the ceremony itself, but strictly speaking you graduate once you have met all the requirements, whether or not you attend commencement.

The standard construction is "graduated from college": "She graduated from Oxford in June." Dropping the preposition, as in "she graduated college," is common in informal American English but is still widely regarded as nonstandard, so use "graduated from" in careful writing.

Both can refer to a degree ceremony, but graduation names the completion of the course of study itself, while convocation is the traditional name for the ceremony at many universities in Canada, India, and parts of the UK. In everyday speech, graduation is the more universal term.