define

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English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

From Middle English definen, from Old French definer, variant of definir, from Latin dēfīniō (limit, settle, define), from + fīniō (set a limit, bound, end)

Pronunciation [edit]

Verb [edit]

define (third-person singular simple present defines, present participle defining, simple past and past participle defined)

  1. To determine.
  2. (obsolete) To settle, decide (an argument etc.). [16th-17th c.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.3:
      These warlike Champions, all in armour shine, / Assembled were in field the chalenge to define.
  3. To express the essential nature of something.
    I define myself as a techno-anarchist.
  4. To state the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol.
    The textbook defined speed as velocity divided by time.
  5. To describe, explain, or make definite and clear.
  6. To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.
    to define the legal boundaries of a property

Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

Noun [edit]

define (plural defines)

  1. (computing, programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.
    • 1996, James Gosling, Henry McGilton, The Java Language Environment
      From the computer programming perspective, Java looks like C and C++ while discarding the overwhelming complexities of those languages, such as typedefs, defines, preprocessor, unions, pointers, and multiple inheritance.
    • 1999, Ian Joyner, Objects unencapsulated: Java, Eiffel, and C++ (page 309)
      Anyone who has attempted to do OO programming in a conventional language using defines will find out that it is impossible to realize the benefits easily, if at all, without compiler support.

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]


Galician [edit]

Verb [edit]

define

  1. third-person singular present indicative of definir
  2. second-person singular imperative of definir

Portuguese [edit]

Verb [edit]

define (infinitive: definir)

  1. Second-person singular (tu) affirmative imperative of definir.
  2. Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você?) present indicative of definir.

Spanish [edit]

Verb [edit]

define (infinitive definir)

  1. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of definir.
  2. Informal second-person singular () affirmative imperative form of definir.