institutes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of institute.

   Three independent institutes published conflicting findings on the drug.

   Funding cuts forced several technical institutes to close their doors.

   Note

   A spelling shared with the verb's present-tense form: the board institutes reforms, while three institutes publish findings. As a noun it can mean organizations, technical colleges or the buildings that house them. An older, now obsolete use treated institutes as things established, such as laws, habits and customs. In Scotland the singular also names the person to whom an estate is first given.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of institute.

   The board institutes new safety procedures after every serious accident.

   Each incoming dean institutes a fresh set of admissions standards.

   Note

   Here the -s signals a singular subject: he, she, it, or a singular noun such as the board or the dean. Its usual object is something set up or begun, such as a procedure, a policy or a set of standards. Church usage keeps a narrower meaning, investing someone with the spiritual charge of a benefice. The sense "to train or instruct" is obsolete and is best avoided.

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