usher in

verb

ushered in; ushering in; ushers in

transitive verb

1

: to serve to bring into being

a discovery that ushered in a period of change

2

: to mark or observe the beginning of

ushered in the new year with merrymaking

Choose the Right Synonym for usher in

begin, commence, start, initiate, inaugurate, usher in mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation.

begin, start, and commence are often interchangeable.

begin, opposed to end, is the most general.

begin a trip

began dancing

start, opposed to stop, applies especially to first actions, steps, or stages.

the work started slowly

commence can be more formal or bookish than begin or start.

commence firing

commenced a conversation

initiate implies taking a first step in a process or series that is to continue.

initiated diplomatic contacts

inaugurate suggests a beginning of some formality or notion of significance.

the discovery of penicillin inaugurated a new era in medicine

usher in is somewhat less weighty than inaugurate.

ushered in a period of economic decline

Examples of usher in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp ushered in that transition over many years of careful, targeted spending on two to three key players each summer rather than scattergun recruitment. —Steve Kornacki, NBC news, 1 May 2026

The cold front that was responsible for much of this week’s severe weather will make its way to the East Coast Wednesday and usher in a cooler, calmer weather pattern for much of the US. —Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply weakened a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a ruling that limits the consideration of race in drawing voting maps and could usher in Republican gains in the House. —Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2026

Moving cannabis to a Schedule III drug ushers in the end of the cannabis prohibition era and the beginning of the regulation era, potentially creating promising opportunities around research and new therapeutics. —Carey S. Cadieux, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1