definition
See also: Definition and définition
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Middle English diffinicioun, from Middle French definition, from Latin dēfīnītiō, from dēfīniō. Equivalent to define + -ition.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/, [ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.n̩]
- (US) IPA(key): /ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/, [ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.n̩], /ˌdɛf.əˈnɪʃ.ən/, [ˌdɛf.əˈnɪʃ.n̩]
- Hyphenation: def‧in‧ition
Noun
[edit]definition (countable and uncountable, plural definitions)
- (semantics, lexicography) A statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol (dictionary definitions).
- Your definition of "elephant" needs to be more precise than "a big animal with large ears".
- 1925, Thomas R. Marshall, Recollections of Thomas R. Marshall[1], Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, →OL, page 65:
- DEFINITIONS mean nothing unless the concept in the mind of the men who makes the definition is the same as that in the mind of the man who hears it.
- 2020 November 9, Christina Zdanowicz, “Oxford dictionaries change ‘sexist’ and outdated definitions of the word ‘woman’”, in CNN[2]:
- Phrases such as “woman of the moment” were added to equal the old saying of the “man of the moment.” And one of the definitions of “woman” now refers to a “person’s wife, girlfriend, or female lover,” as opposed to being tied to only a man.
- (usually with the definite article the) A clear instance conforming to the dictionary or textbook definition.
- 2008 May, Shoeless Wayne Santos, “Baroque” (game review), GameAxis Unwired, Hardware Zone Pte, page 51:
- Baroque is a good game, but only for a very narrow subset of the gaming audience. It is the very definition of a niche title.
- 2016 March 1, Stuart Heritage, “Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy - it’s the very definition of a hidden gem”, in The Guardian:
- Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy – it’s the very definition of a hidden gem
- 2019 September 25, Chris Cilizza, “The Ukraine call ‘transcript’ is pretty darn close to a smoking gun”, in ThePo!nt, CNN:
- That Trump just came out and asked for Zelensky to investigate the Bidens – after reminding him several times of how much the US did for Ukraine!!!! – is something very close to the textbook definition of a quid pro quo.
- 2008 May, Shoeless Wayne Santos, “Baroque” (game review), GameAxis Unwired, Hardware Zone Pte, page 51:
- A statement expressing the essential nature of something; formulation
- The action or process of defining.
- The act of defining; determination of the limits.
- A product of defining.
- The action or power of describing, explaining, or making definite and clear.
- Her comic genius is beyond definition.
- Clarity of visual presentation, distinctness of outline or detail.
- The definition of a telescope.
- Improve the definition of an image.
- high-definition videos
- Clarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction.
- Sharp demarcation of outlines or limits.
- A jacket with distinct waist definition.
- (bodybuilding) The degree to which individual muscles are distinct on the body.
- (programming) A statement which provides a previous declaration with a value or body of a subroutine (in the case of function).
- (mathematics) A statement that establishes the referent of a term or notation.
- (crosswording) The part of a cryptic clue which defines but does not indicate the solution.
- 2014, Henry Howarth, Learn How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords: A Course for Beginners, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 59:
- However, some clues include words that do not form part of the wordplay or the definition.
Synonyms
[edit]- See also Thesaurus:definition
Hyponyms
[edit]- circular definition
- conceptual definition
- dictionary definition
- enumerative definition
- extensional definition
- inductive definition
- intensional definition
- lexical definition
- operational definition
- ostensive definition
- precising definition
- recursive definition
- standard definition
- stipulative definition
- working definition
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol
|
statement expressing the essential nature of something
|
action or process of defining
|
act of defining
|
product of defining
|
action or power of describing, explaining, or making definite
|
clarity of visual presentation, distinctness of outline or detail
|
clarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction
sharp demarcation of outlines or limits
|
bodybuilding: the degree to which individual muscles are distinct
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- “definition”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
definition on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Finnish
[edit]Noun
[edit]definition
Middle French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Ultimately from Latin dēfīnītiō.
Noun
[edit]definition f (plural definitions)
- definition (clarification of this definition is needed)
Descendants
[edit]- → Dutch: definitie
- → English: definition
- French: définition
- Haitian Creole: definisyon
- → Romanian: definiție
- → Turkish: definisyon, definasyon
Swedish
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]definition c
Declension
[edit]| nominative | genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | indefinite | definition | definitions |
| definite | definitionen | definitionens | |
| plural | indefinite | definitioner | definitioners |
| definite | definitionerna | definitionernas |
Related terms
[edit]- definiera
- definiering
- definitionsfråga
- definitionsförsök
- definitionsmängd
- definitionsmässig
- definitionsordbok
- definitiv
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms suffixed with -ition
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Semantics
- en:Lexicography
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Bodybuilding
- en:Programming
- en:Mathematics
- en:Crosswording
- Finnish non-lemma forms
- Finnish noun forms
- Middle French terms derived from Latin
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French feminine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Swedish terms with audio pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns