Difference Between Institute and Institution

An institute refers to an organization having a specific purpose. However, institution has two main meanings, referring to either an established law or practice or an organization or corporation. This is the key difference between institute and institution.

There is no special difference between institute and institution when you are referring to an organization established for a specific cause such as education, research, and science. You can use either of these words. However, institute, unlike institution, doesn’t refer to a significant practice or tradition in a society.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is an Institute
3. What is an Institution
4. Similarities Between Institute and Institution
5. Side by Side Comparison – Institute vs Institution in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is an Institute?

Institute is an organization having a specific purpose, especially one that is involved with education, science, research or another specific profession. You can often notice this word in names of organizations; for example, Institute of Chartered Accounts, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, etc.

The word institute comes from instituere meaning “build”, “raise”, “create”, or “educate”. Given below are some example sentences to illustrate the meaning of this word more clearly.

They established an institute to research this phenomenon.

The government has announced the establishment of two new technical institutes.

The event was organized by the students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Institute can also be used as a verb. As a verb, it means to introduce or establish, especially something like a policy or scheme.

What is an Institution?

The noun institution has two main meanings. One of these meanings refers to “an organization founded for a religious, educational, professional, or social purpose”. The other definition is “an established law or practice”. The first definition is quite similar to institute. In fact, this is why most people use these two words interchangeably when they are talking about an established organization or corporation.

As mentioned above, institute also refers to an established practice or law. For example, you must have heard the phrase ‘institution of marriage’. This phrase derives from this second meaning of institution. Let’s now look at some example sentences to understand these meanings more clearly.

He argued that social institutions including politics and religion are of no use.

She needed a certificate from a professional institution in order to get selected.

Institution of slavery was the focal point of the U.S. civil war.  

The government imposed a tax on banks and other financial institutions.

What is the Similarity Between Institute and Institution?

• You can use either of these words when you are referring to an organization established for a specific cause such as education, research, and science.

What is the Difference Between Institute and Institution?

An institute refers to an organization having a specific purpose. However, institution has two main meanings: one referring to established law or practice and one referring an organization or corporation having a specific purpose. Thus, institution can refer to a significant practice or law in the society whereas institute cannot.

Summary – Institute vs Institution

Institution has two main meanings: one referring to an established law or practice and one referring an organization or corporation having a specific purpose. The latter meaning is similar to the meaning of institute. Thus, there is a difference between institute and institution.

Image Courtesy:

1.”Allen Institute for Brain Science Building 01″By Joe Mabel, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia