# induction

/ˌɪnˈdəkʃən/ (US) · /ɪndˈʌkʃən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/induction
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. starting a new job

noun · CEFR B2

the process of introducing a new person to their job or a formal group.

For teachers: the formal act or process of introducing a person to a new post, office, or organisation.

- All new employees must attend a three-day induction to learn about company safety.
- The department head organised a comprehensive induction for the new recruits to ensure they understood the regulatory framework of the industry.

### 2. logical reasoning

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

a way of proving something is true by looking at specific examples and making a general rule.

For teachers: the process of deriving general principles from particular facts or instances.

- In science, we use induction to create theories based on the patterns we observe.
- Mathematical induction provides a rigorous method for proving that a statement holds for every natural number in an infinite sequence.

### 3. electricity/magnetism

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the way electricity or magnetism is created in an object without touching it.

For teachers: the production of an electromotive force across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field.

- An induction cooker uses a magnetic field to heat the pan directly.
- The transformer operates on the principle of mutual induction, transferring energy between circuits through a shared magnetic flux.

### 4. medical labour

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the medical process of starting a woman's labour to begin childbirth.

For teachers: the artificial initiation of childbirth through the use of clinical intervention or medication.

- The doctor recommended an induction because the baby was two weeks late.
- The clinical guidelines specify the conditions under which a medical induction is preferable to awaiting spontaneous labour.

### 5. an introduction

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

a formal introduction at the beginning of a book or play.

For teachers: a preface or introductory scene in a literary work, especially in early modern drama.

- The old play began with a short induction where a character spoke to the audience.
- Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' features a famous induction in which a drunken tinker is tricked into believing he is a nobleman.

## Examples

- The new employees start their induction training on Monday morning.
- Scientific theories often rely on induction, where researchers observe many specific cases to form a broader conclusion.
- While deduction provides certainty through logic, induction offers a way to build knowledge through empirical observation, though it remains vulnerable to the discovery of a single counterexample.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.