inductionWhen a magnet is passed through a coil of wire, it produces an electric current. The direction of the flow of the current depends on the direction in which the magnet moves. In the top diagram the current flows from right to left. In the bottom diagram the current flows from left to right.in·duc·tion (?n-d?k?sh?n)n.1. a. The act or an instance of inducting.b. A ceremony or formal act by which a person is inducted, as into office or military service.2. Electricity a. The generation of electromotive force in a closed circuit by a varying magnetic flux through the circuit.b. The charging of an isolated conducting object by momentarily grounding it while a charged body is nearby.3. Logic a. The process of deriving general principles from particular facts or instances.b. A conclusion reached by this process.4. Mathematics A two-part method of proving a theorem involving an integral parameter. First the theorem is verified for the smallest admissible value of the integer. Then it is proven that if the theorem is true for any value of the integer, it is true for the next greater value. The final proof contains the two parts.5. The act or process of inducing or bringing about, as:a. Medicine The inducing of labor, whereby labor is initiated artificially with drugs such as oxytocin.b. Medicine The administration of anesthetic agents and the establishment of a depth of anesthesia adequate for surgery.c. Biochemistry The process of initiating or increasing the production of an enzyme, as in genetic transcription.d. Embryology The process by which one part of an embryo causes adjacent tissues or parts to change form or shape, as by the diffusion of hormones or other chemicals.6. Presentation of material, such as facts or evidence, in support of an argument or proposition.7. A preface or prologue, especially to an early English play.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.induction (?n?d?k??n) n1. the act of inducting or state of being inducted2. the act of inducing3. (Automotive Engineering) (in an internal-combustion engine) the part of the action of a piston by which mixed air and fuel are drawn from the carburettor to the cylinder4. (Logic) logic a. a process of reasoning, used esp in science, by which a general conclusion is drawn from a set of premises, based mainly on experience or experimental evidence. The conclusion goes beyond the information contained in the premises, and does not follow necessarily from them. Thus an inductive argument may be highly probable, yet lead from true premises to a false conclusionb. a conclusion reached by this process of reasoning. Compare deduction45. (General Physics) the process by which electrical or magnetic properties are transferred, without physical contact, from one circuit or body to another. See also inductance6. (Biology) biology the effect of one tissue, esp an embryonic tissue, on the development of an adjacent tissue7. (Biochemistry) biochem the process by which synthesis of an enzyme is stimulated by the presence of its substrate8. (Mathematics) maths logic a. a method of proving a proposition that all integers have a property, by first proving that 1 has the property and then that if the integer n has it so has n + 1b. the application of recursive rules9. a. a formal introduction or entry into an office or positionb. (as modifier): induction course; induction period. 10. (Military) US the formal enlistment of a civilian into military service11. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) an archaic word for preface in?ductional adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014in?duc?tion (?n?d?k ??n) n. 1. the act of inducing. 2. formal installation in an office, benefice, or the like. 3. (in logic) a. any form of reasoning in which the conclusion, though supported by the premises, does not follow from them necessarily. b. the process of estimating the validity of observations of part of a class of facts as evidence for a proposition about the whole class. c. a conclusion reached by this process. Compare deduction (def. 5). 4. a presentation or bringing forward, as of facts or evidence. 5. the process by which a body having electric or magnetic properties produces magnetism, an electric charge, or an electromotive force in a neighboring body without visible contact. 6. the process or principle by which one part of an embryo influences the differentiation of another part. 7. Biochem. the synthesis of an enzyme in response to an increased concentration of its substrate in the cell. 8. Archaic. a preface. [1350?1400; Middle English