Define

How to spell define

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce define

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does define mean?

1. verbTo state precisely the meaning, nature, or limits of something.

Define in a sentence

• The contract should clearly define each party's responsibilities.

• A good dictionary will define the term without using the word itself.

Where does define come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word travels from the Latin definire, which meant 'to set bounds to' or 'to mark off'. It was built from the prefix de-, here adding the sense of completeness, and finire 'to limit or bound', which itself rests on finis, meaning 'boundary' or 'end'. The original idea was strikingly literal: to define something was to draw a clear edge around it and say where it stopped. English took the word in through Old French definer in the 1300s, and the modern sense of stating the precise meaning of a word grew naturally from the notion of fixing its boundaries. The same finis root sits inside everyday relatives like 'finish', 'final', and 'finite', and remembering that buried 'fine' (the boundary) helps explain why the word ends in -ine rather than -yne.

How the word is built

• de- (down, completely)
• fine (from Latin finis: boundary, end) = to set the limits of