definition

See also: Definition and définition

English

Etymology

From Middle English diffinicioun, from Middle French definition, from Latin dēfīnītiō, from dēfīniō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdɛfɪˈnɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˌdɛfɪˈnɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: def‧in‧ition

Noun

definition (countable and uncountable, plural definitions)

1. (semantics, lexicography) A statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol (dictionary definitions).
2. (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”, 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”, 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.

3. A statement expressing the essential nature of something; formulation
4. The action or process of defining.
5. The act of defining; determination of the limits.
6. A product of defining.
7. The action or power of describing, explaining, or making definite and clear.

   Her comic genius is beyond definition.

8. Clarity of visual presentation, distinctness of outline or detail.

   The definition of a telescope.

   Improve the definition of an image.

9. Clarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction.
10. Sharp demarcation of outlines or limits.

    A jacket with distinct waist definition.

11. (bodybuilding) The degree to which individual muscles are distinct on the body.
12. (programming) A statement which provides a previous declaration with a value or body of a subroutine (in the case of function).
13. (mathematics) A statement that establishes the referent of a term or notation.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:definition

Hyponyms

• circular definition
• conceptual definition
• dictionary definition
• enumerative definition
• extensional definition
• intensional definition
• lexical definition
• operational definition
• ostensive definition
• precising definition
• recursive definition
• stipulative definition
• working definition

 

Derived terms

• high-definition

Related terms

• define
• definiendum
• definiens
• definitional
• definition by example
• definition by pointing

 

Translations

statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol

• Albanian: përkufizim (sq) m, përcaktim (sq) m
• Arabic: تَعْرِيف (ar) m (taʕrīf)
• Azerbaijani: tərif (az)
• Bashkir: билдәләмә (bildələmə)
• Belarusian: азначэ́нне n (aznačénnje), вызначэ́нне n (vyznačénnje), дэфіні́цыя f (definícyja)
• Bulgarian: определе́ние (bg) n (opredelénie), дефини́ция (bg) f (definícija)
• Burmese: အနက် (my) (a.nak)
• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 定義／定义 (zh) (dìngyì), 定义 (zh) (dìngyì), 釋義／释义 (zh) (shìyì), 释义 (zh) (shìyì)

• Czech: definice (cs) f
• Danish: definition (da) c
• Dutch: definitie (nl) f, omschrijving (nl) f
• Esperanto: difino (eo)
• Estonian: definitsioon
• Finnish: määritelmä (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• Galician: definición (gl) f
• Georgian: განმარტება (ganmarṭeba), განსაზღვრება (gansazɣvreba), დეფინიცია (depinicia)
• German: Begriffserklärung f, Definition (de) f
• Greek: ορισμός (el) m (orismós)
• Haitian Creole: definisyon
• Hebrew: הַגְדָּרָה (he) f (hagdara)
• Hindi: परिभाषा (hi) f (paribhāṣā), शब्दार्थ (hi) m (śabdārth)
• Hungarian: definíció (hu), meghatározás (hu)
• Icelandic: orðskýring f
• Irish: sainmhíniú m
• Italian: definizione (it) f
• Japanese: 定義 (ja) (ていぎ, teigi), 語義 (ja) (ごぎ, gogi)
• Kazakh: анықтама (kk) (anyqtama), дефиниция (definisiä)
• Khmer: និយមន័យ (km) (niyum nɨy)
• Korean: 정의 (ko) (jeong'ui) (定義 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• Kyrgyz: аныктама (ky) (anıktama), дефиниция (definitsiya)
• Lao: ນິຍາມ (lo) (ni nyām)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: definīcija f
• Lithuanian: apibrėžimas (lt) m, definicija (lt) f
• Macedonian: дефиниција f (definicija)
• Malay: takrif, definisi
• Maori: aronga
• Mongolian: тодорхойлолт (mn) (todorxojlolt)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: definisjon (no) m

• Pashto: تعريف (ps) m (ta'ríf)
• Persian: تعریف (fa) (ta'rif)
• Polish: definicja (pl) f
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f
• Romanian: definire (ro) f, definiție (ro) f
• Russian: определе́ние (ru) n (opredelénije), дефини́ция (ru) f (definícija)
• Sanskrit: शब्दार्थ (sa) m (śabdārtha)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m, comharrachadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дефиниција f

  Roman: definicija (sh) f

• Slovak: definícia f
• Slovene: definicija (sl) f
• Spanish: definición (es) f
• Swedish: definition (sv) c
• Tagalog: kahulugan (tl)
• Tajik: таъриф (tg) (taʾrif)
• Tatar: билгеләмә (tt) (bilgelämä)
• Thai: การกำหนด (th) (gaan-gam-nòt), การนิยาม (th) (gaan-ní-yaam), คำนิยาม (th) (kam-ní-yaam), นิยาม (th) (ní-yaam)
• Tibetan: མཚན་ཉིད (mtshan nyid)
• Turkish: tarif (tr), tanım (tr)
• Turkmen: kesgitleme, kesgitnama
• Ukrainian: озна́чення n (oznáčennja), ви́значення n (význačennja), дефіні́ція f (definícija)
• Urdu: تعریف (ta'rīf)
• Uyghur: تەبىر (tebir)
• Uzbek: taʻrif, definitsiya (uz)
• Vietnamese: định nghĩa (vi) (定義)

statement expressing the essential nature of something

• Bashkir: билдәләмә (bildələmə)
• Bulgarian: определе́ние (bg) n (opredelénie), дефини́ция (bg) f (definícija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 定意 (zh) (dìngyì)

• Danish: definition (da) c
• Dutch: definitie (nl) f
• Finnish: määritelmä (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Definierung f, Definition (de) f
• Hebrew: הגדרה (he) f (hagdara)
• Italian: definizione (it) f
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f
• Romanian: definiție (ro)
• Russian: определе́ние (ru) n (opredelénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m, comharrachadh m
• Swedish: definition (sv) c

action or process of defining

• Bulgarian: определя́не (bg) n (opredeljáne)
• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 下定意 (xiàdìngyì)

• Czech: definice (cs) f
• Danish: definition (da) c
• Dutch: definiëring (nl) f, omschrijving (nl) f
• Finnish: määrittely (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Begriffserklärung f, Definierung f
• Italian: definizione (it) f
• Malay: takrifan
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f
• Romanian: definire (ro) f
• Russian: определе́ние (ru) n (opredelénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m
• Swedish: definierande (sv) n

act of defining

• Bulgarian: определя́не (bg) n (opredeljáne)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 下定意 (xiàdìngyì)

• Danish: definition (da) c
• Finnish: määrittely (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• German: Begriffserklärung f, Definierung f
• Hebrew: הגדרה (he) f (hagdara)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: definizione (it) f, il definire
• Malay: takrifan
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f
• Romanian: definire (ro)
• Russian: определе́ние (ru) n (opredelénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m, comharrachadh m
• Swedish: definition (sv) c

product of defining

• Bulgarian: дефини́ция (bg) f (definícija)
• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 定意 (zh) (dìngyì)

• Danish: definition (da) c
• Dutch: definitie (nl) f, omschrijving (nl) f
• Finnish: määritelmä (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Definition (de) f
• Italian: definizione (it) f
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f
• Romanian: definiție (ro) f
• Russian: определе́ние (ru) n (opredelénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m, comharrachadh m
• Swedish: definition (sv) c

action or power of describing, explaining, or making definite

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 下定意 (xiàdìngyì)

• Finnish: määrittely (fi)
• German: Definition (de) f
• Italian: livello di definizione
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: descritibilidade f
• Romanian: definire (ro), grad de definire n
• Russian: объясне́ние (ru) n (obʺjasnénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: sònrachadh m, comharrachadh m

clarity of visual presentation, distinctness of outline or detail

• Bulgarian: ря́зкост f (rjázkost), раздели́телна спосо́бност f (razdelítelna sposóbnost)
• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清晰 (zh) (qīngxī)

• Danish: opløsningsevne c, opløsning c
• Esperanto: difino (eo)
• Finnish: tarkkuus (fi), erottelukyky (fi)
• French: définition (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Scharfzeichnung f, Konturentreue f, Trennschärfe f
• Irish: gléine f
• Italian: definizione (it) f, definitezza f
• Portuguese: definição (pt) f, nitidez (pt) f
• Romanian: definiție (ro), forță de definire f
• Russian: разреше́ние (ru) n (razrešénije), ре́зкость (ru) f (rézkostʹ)
• Swedish: upplösning (sv) c

clarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction

• Bulgarian: я́сност f (jásnost)
• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清晰 (zh) (qīngxī)

• Danish: gengivelse
• Dutch: scherpte (nl) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: kirkkaus (fi)
• German: Schärfe (de) f, Präzision (de) f
• Italian: definizione (it) f
• Portuguese: clareza (pt) f
• Russian: я́сность (ru) f (jásnostʹ)

sharp demarcation of outlines or limits

• Bulgarian: ря́зкост f (rjázkost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清晰 (zh) (qīngxī)

• Finnish: rajaus (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Scharfzeichnung f, Konturentreue f, Trennschärfe f, Präzision (de) f
• Italian: definitezza f
• Portuguese: delineação (pt) f
• Russian: чёткость (ru) f (čótkostʹ), ре́зкость (ru) f (rézkostʹ)

bodybuilding: the degree to which individual muscles are distinct

• Catalan: definició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清晰度 (qīngxīdù)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: erottuvuus
• German: Definition (de) f

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

• Middle French: definition
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} defino (io)
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} definitio, ^{(please verify)} definitionis
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} definisjon (no)
• Novial:
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} definiție (ro) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} definicija (sh) f, ^{(please verify)} дефиниция f
• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} definícia f
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} definicija (sl) f, ^{(please verify)} opredelitev f
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} నిర్వచనము (te) (nirvacanamu)
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} diffiniad (cy) m

See also

• definiendum
• definiens
• genus
• differentia

References

• definition on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

---

Finnish

Noun

definition

1. genitive singular of definitio

---

Middle French

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin dēfīnītiō.

Noun

definition f (plural definitions)

1. definition (clarification of this definition is needed)

Descendants

• → Dutch: definitie
• → English: definition
• French: définition
  • Haitian Creole: definisyon
  • → Romanian: definiție
  • → Turkish: definisyon, definasyon

---

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

definition c

1. a definition

Declension

Declension of definition
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	definition	definitionen	definitioner	definitionerna
Genitive	definitions	definitionens	definitioners	definitionernas

Related terms

• definiera
• definiering
• definitionsfråga
• definitionsförsök
• definitionsmängd
• definitionsmässig
• definitionsordbok
• definitiv

See also

• betydelse
• finit
• ordförklaring

References

• definition in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)