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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

term.

That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.

  2. A condition or restriction. Any of the binding conditions or promises in a contract or agreement.

    often · plural
    Be sure to read the terms and conditions before signing.
    Alright, look...we can spend the holidays with your parents, but this time it will be on my terms.
  3. A condition or restriction. Specifically, the conditions in a legal contract that specify the price and also how and when payment must be made.

    in-plural
    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.]
    The latest models are available now, on the lowest terms you'll find anywhere, guaranteed.
  4. A chronological limitation or division. A limited or defined 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.
    He was sentenced to a term of six years in prison.
  5. A chronological limitation or division. Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.

    The president is almost half way through his term.
  6. A chronological limitation or division. The time during which legal courts are open.

  7. A chronological limitation or division. Certain days on which rent is paid.

  8. A chronological limitation or division. Part of a year, especially one of the divisions of an academic year.

    At our school, sports day was always held at the end of the summer term.
  9. A chronological limitation or division. 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.
    at term
  10. A chronological limitation or division. A menstrual period.

    archaic
  11. A chronological limitation or division. The maximum period during which the patent can be maintained into force.

  12. Relations among people.

    in-plural
    We are on friendly terms with each other.
  13. A unit or component with a certain meaning. 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.
    The noun phrase "red blood cell", the acronym "RBC", and the word "erythrocyte" are synonymous terms.
  14. A unit or component with a certain meaning. A stated kind of language or terminology.

    in-plural
    Could you explain that in layman's terms?
    I told her in no uncertain terms that it was none of her business.
  15. A unit or component with a certain meaning. 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.
    One only term is odd in ( 12; 3; 4 ).
  16. A unit or component with a certain meaning. The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.
  19. A statue of the upper body, sometimes without the arms, ending in a pillar or pedestal.

  20. A piece of carved work placed under each end of the taffrail.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *ter-? Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ Proto-Italic *termn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *term(e)nos Latin terminus Old French termebor. Middle English terme English term 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.

verb/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. To phrase a certain way; to name or call.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *ter-? Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ Proto-Italic *termn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *term(e)nos Latin terminus Old French termebor. Middle English terme English term 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.

adj/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. Born or delivered at term.

    colloquial · not-comparable
    term neonate
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *ter-? Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ Proto-Italic *termn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *term(e)nos Latin terminus Old French termebor. Middle English terme English term 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.

noun/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. A computer program that emulates a physical terminal.

    informal
Where this word comes from

Clipping of terminal.

verb/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. To terminate someone's employment.

    ambitransitive · informal
  2. To delete someone's account.

    informal · transitive
Where this word comes from

Short for terminate, termination, terminated employee, etc.

noun/tɜːm/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[tʰɜːm] ~ [tʰɐ̝ːm]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/tɜɹm/Canada, General-American[tʰɝm] ~ [tʰɚ̞m]Canada, General-American
  1. One whose employment has been terminated

Where this word comes from

Short for terminate, termination, terminated employee, etc.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.