in·au·gu·ral
i-ˈnȯ-gyə-rəl 
-g(ə-)rəl
1
: of or relating to an inauguration
2
: marking a beginning : first in a projected series
1
: an inaugural address
2
Examples of inaugural in a Sentence
Adjective
They attended the inaugural ball.
the inaugural event in the city's week long festival honoring the sailing ships
Noun
attended the inaugurals of the city's last three mayors
Recent Examples on the Web
Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2025
The foundation will award inaugural grants to the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, LA Phil’s YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and two of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles (NYO2 and NYO Jazz).
—Chris Eggertsen, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2025
Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Often times, the swearing-in of the President for a second term generates a lower audience than the initial inaugural.
—Brad Adgate, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inaugural
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Adjective
The coming inaugural LlamaCon event (which takes place one day before earnings) is expected to showcase how Meta is building a platform around open-source AI to rival offerings from competitors such as OpenAI and Google.
—Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2025
The foundation will award inaugural grants to the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, LA Phil’s YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and two of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles (NYO2 and NYO Jazz).
—Chris Eggertsen, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
Not So Glamorous Speaking of which, inaugurals are theoretically supposed to be glamorous.
—Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Often times, the swearing-in of the President for a second term generates a lower audience than the initial inaugural.
—Brad Adgate, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inaugural
Cite this Entry
“Inaugural.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inaugural. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inaugural
1 of 2 adjective
in·au·gu·ral
in-ˈȯ-gyə-rəl
-g(ə-)rəl
1
: of or relating to an inauguration
the inaugural address
an inaugural ball
2
: marking a beginning
the inaugural run of a new high-speed train
inaugural
2 of 2 noun1
: an inaugural address
2
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