define

define

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of define in English

English Online Dictionary. What means define‎? What does define mean?

English

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): /dɪˈfaɪn/
  • Hyphenation: de‧fine
  • Rhymes: -aɪn

Verb

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

  1. To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
  2. (obsolete) To settle, decide (an argument etc.) [16th–17th c.]
  3. To express the essential nature of something.
  4. To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol.
  5. To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression.
  6. To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.
  7. (mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

define (plural defines)

  1. (programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.

Translations

Further reading

  • “define”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
  • “define”, in The Century Dictionary [], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

  • feed-in, feedin', infeed

Galician

Verb

define

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

Portuguese

Verb

define

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

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /deˈfine/ [d̪eˈfi.ne]
  • Rhymes: -ine
  • Syllabification: de‧fi‧ne

Verb

define

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

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish دفینه (define), from Arabic دَفِينَة (dafīna), from دَفَنَ (dafana, to bury).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de.fiːˈne/
  • Hyphenation: de‧fi‧ne

Noun

define (definite accusative defineyi, plural defineler)

  1. treasure trove
Declension

References

  • “define”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
  • Redhouse, James W. (1890), “دفینه”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 907

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French défini, past participle of définir.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de.fiˈne/
  • Hyphenation: de‧fi‧ne

Adjective

define

  1. (bodybuilding) defined
    define vücuta defined body
Derived terms
Related terms

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.