graduation

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Conferral or receipt of an academic degree or diploma marking completion of studies.
• noun A ceremony at which degrees or diplomas are conferred; a commencement.
• noun A division or interval, as on a graduated scale.
• noun A mark indicating the boundary of such a division or interval.
• noun An arrangement in or a division into stages or degrees.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of graduating, or the state of being graduated.
• noun Admission to a degree in a college or university, or by some professional corporation, as a result of examination.
• noun The raising of a substance to a higher degree of fineness, consistency, or the like; transmutation, as of metals (in alchemy): concentration, as of a liquid by evaporation.
• noun Collectively, the marks or lines made on an instrument to indicate degrees or other divisions.
• noun The act of grading, or the state of being graded; grading.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of graduating, or the state of being graduated
• noun The marks on an instrument or vessel to indicate degrees or quantity; a scale.
• noun The exposure of a liquid in large surfaces to the air, so as to hasten its evaporation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The action or process of graduating and receiving a diploma for completing a course of study (such as from an educational institution).
• noun A commencement ceremony.
• noun sciences A marking (i.e. on a container) indicating a measurement.
• noun The exposure of a liquid in large surfaces to the air, so as to hasten its evaporation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the act of arranging in grades
• noun a line (as on a vessel or ruler) that marks a measurement
• noun an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred
• noun the successful completion of a program of study