What does "term" mean?
That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.
Term
/tɜːm/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.
- Grammar: term is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: condition, abundant year, academic theoretical descriptor, academic year.
- Useful contrasts: instant, mislabel, misname.
- Usage evidence: I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term.
How to use "term"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "term" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "term" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "term" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "term" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "term" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "condition" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "term", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.
"Corruption is a reciprocal to generation, and they two are as nature's two terms, or boundaries."
- 2 A computer program that emulates a physical terminal. informal
- 3 One whose employment has been terminated
- 4 (architecture) a statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar; originally used as a boundary marker in ancient Rome wordnet
- 5 A chronological limitation or restriction, a limited timespan.
"The term of a lease agreement is the period of time during which the lease is effective, and may be fixed, periodic, or of indefinite duration."
Show 23 more definitions
- 6 any distinct quantity contained in a polynomial wordnet
- 7 Any of the binding conditions or promises in a legal contract.
"Be sure to read the terms and conditions before signing."
- 8 a word or expression used for some particular thing wordnet
- 9 Specifically, the conditions in a legal contract that specify the price and also how and when payment must be made.
"Q: What are your company's terms? A: Net thirty, cash or check. [This answer means that the net total must be paid within 30 days; see Net D.]"
- 10 one of the substantive phrases in a logical proposition wordnet
- 11 A point, line, or superficies that limits. archaic
"A line is the term of a superficies, and a superficies is the term of a solid."
- 12 (usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement wordnet
- 13 A word or phrase (e.g., noun phrase, verb phrase, open compound), especially one from a specialised area of knowledge; a name for a concept.
""Algorithm" is a term used in computer science."
- 14 a limited period of time wordnet
- 15 Relations among people.
"We are on friendly terms with each other."
- 16 the end of gestation or point at which birth is imminent wordnet
- 17 Part of a year, especially one of the divisions of an academic year.
- 18 Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.
"He was sentenced to a term of six years in prison."
- 19 Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.; The time during which legal courts are open.
- 20 Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.; Certain days on which rent is paid.
- 21 With respect to a pregnancy, the usual duration of gestation for the given species (for example, nine months in humans); (metonymic) the end of this duration: the timepoint at which birth usually happens (for example, in humans, approximately 40 weeks from conception), defining the due date.
"A pregnancy didn't come to term."
- 22 The maximum period during which the patent can be maintained into force.
- 23 A menstrual period. archaic
"My wife, after the absence of her terms for seven weeks, gave me hopes of her being with child, but on the last day of the year she hath them again."
- 24 Any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a space or an appropriate character, in an overall expression or table.
"All the terms of this sum cancel out."
- 25 The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.
"The subject and predicate of a proposition are, after Aristotle, together called its terms or extremes."
- 26 An essential dignity in which unequal segments of every astrological sign have internal rulerships which affect the power and integrity of each planet in a natal chart.
- 27 A statue of the upper body, sometimes without the arms, ending in a pillar or pedestal.
"The pillers that haue bolſtered vp thoſe tearmes, Are falne in cluſters at my conquering feet."
- 28 A piece of carved work placed under each end of the taffrail.
Verb
- 1 To phrase a certain way; to name or call. transitive
"Abstraction or prescision ought to be carefully distinguished from two other modes of mental separation, which may be termed discrimination and dissociation."
- 2 To terminate someone's employment. ambitransitive, informal
- 3 name formally or designate with a term wordnet
- 4 To delete someone's account. informal, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Born or delivered at term. colloquial, not-comparable
"term neonate"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "term"?
Common synonyms include: condition, abundant year, academic theoretical descriptor, academic year, addend, addition.
How do you use "term" in a sentence?
I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term.
How do you pronounce "term"?
Pronounced /tɜːm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English terme, borrowed from Old French terme, from Latin terminus (“a bound, boundary, limit, end; in Medieval Latin, also a time, period, word, covenant, etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ (“stump, end, boundary”). Doublet of terminus and termon. Old English had termen, from the same source.
Etymology 2
Clipping of terminal.
Etymology 3
Short for terminate, termination, terminated employee, etc.
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