What does introduce mean?
Introduce means to bring someone or something into a new relationship, setting, or awareness. A speaker may introduce a colleague to an audience, a teacher may introduce students to a subject, and a company may introduce a new service or feature. The verb can also mean to make something known or available for the first time, such as introducing a policy to an organization or introducing a product to the market. Its basic sense involves presentation and discovery: something previously unknown or absent becomes visible, accessible, or part of a group. “Introduce someone to” often has the additional meaning of making that person known to someone else. The word is common in speech, writing, education, business, and public life, ranging from polite social introductions to major institutional or technological changes.
To present a person, thing, topic, or idea to an audience or to another person for the first time.
"The host introduced the guests one by one."
In social contexts, this commonly means formally presenting one person to others.
To make someone familiar with a subject, activity, place, or new experience.
"The guide introduces visitors to the museum's collection."
Often used with the construction “introduce someone to something.”
To make something known, available, or part of an existing system for the first time.
"The company introduced a flexible working policy last year."
This sense can refer to products, policies, features, technologies, or changes.
To introduce something is to bring it into the conversation: a person enters a room, and an idea enters the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does introduce come from?
Introduce comes from Latin introducere, formed from intro-, meaning “inward” or “into,” and ducere, meaning “to lead.” The Latin word originally referred to bringing or leading someone in. English borrowed the word in the early 16th century in the sense of presenting or bringing someone into a place, relationship, or field of knowledge, and its modern senses developed from those uses. Its relatives in English, such as introspect and introvert, share the same Latin prefix.
Related word forms
How introduce is actually used
The word is widely used in formal and informal contexts. “Introduce someone to” commonly means to make an unfamiliar person or thing known to someone, whereas “introduce something” often means to present it to an audience or add it to a system.