Meaning of define in English

define

/dɪˈfaɪn/ us

/dɪˈfaɪn/

define verb [T] (EXPLAIN)

to say what the meaning of something, especially a word, is:

In the dictionary, "reality" is defined as "the state of things as they are, rather than as they are imagined to be".

Before I answer your question, could you define your terms a little more (= explain what you mean by the words you have used)?

See also

well defined

to explain and describe the meaning and exact limits of something:

Your rights and responsibilities are defined in the citizens' charter.

Your role in the project will be strictly defined (= limited to particular areas).

I'd hate to feel that I was defined by (= that my life got its meaning and importance only from) my job.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to explain something

explainCan you explain that again?
clarifyLet me just clarify what I mean here.
defineYour responsibilities are clearly defined in the contract.
set outYour contract will set out the terms of your employment.
set forthThe terms of the statute are set forth in Section I, Article 3.
spell outThey sent me a letter spelling out the details of the agreement.

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More examplesFewer examples

It is very difficult to define the concept of beauty.
The borderline between friendship and intimacy is often hard to define.
Security defined in the broadest sense of the term means getting at the root causes of trouble and helping to reduce regional conflicts.
It's a very hierarchical organization in which everyone's status is clearly defined.
Responsibility, I suppose, is what defines adulthood.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Defining & explaining

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define verb [T] (CLEARLY SHOW)

to show clearly the edge of something:

The outline of the castle on the hill was clearly defined against the evening sky.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Showing and demonstrating

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Related word

definable

(Definition of define from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

define | American Dictionary

define

verb [ T ]

/dɪˈfɑɪn/

define verb [T] (EXPLAIN)

Add to word list Add to word list

English

to describe the meaning of something, esp. a word, or to explain something more clearly so that it can be understood:

How would you define “jaded”?

define verb [T] (SHOW)

to show clearly the edge or shape of something:

The dark figures are sharply defined on the white background.

definable

adjective us/dɪˈfɑɪ·nə·bəl/

(Definition of define from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

define | Business English

define

verb [ T ]

/dɪˈfaɪn/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

to say what the meaning of something, especially a word, is:

Economists normally define a recession as two successive quarters of negative growth.

to explain and state the meaning and exact limits of something:

a defined goal/objective

If you want employees to be more productive, then you must define and measure productivity precisely.

(Definition of define from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of define

define

We also develop a variation on the language model so that stack-based trace policies can be defined.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Analogously to the situation for resolvespecs, there is a tension between allowing arbitrary computation in defining the relations and supporting compile-time analysis.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A weak head reduction relation is defined for the expressions of the calculus.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In section 2, we explain the basic idea of our data-parallel evaluation mechanism for recursively defined data.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A data type declaration defines the structure of a recursive datum and the data constructor names.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Average number of isolates per subtype ; subtype is defined as combined serotype and ribotype.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Perinatal infection was defined as culture-confirmed infection in a pregnant woman or a newborn.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Winter was defined as from week 40 in one year to week 10 in the next.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Areas to the west and south would be defined as low or minimum risk.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Levels of 500 and 1000 have been suggested as defining the cut-off for protection against infection and clinical measles [9].

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Of course, the edge is defined by the rightmost tone-bearing position (that is, the rightmost vowel).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The parameter n is as defined in the text.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The express method of determining the damage threshold can be defined as follows.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Specificity can be defined as the degree of uniqueness that a function shows towards an element, and an element towards a function, in discourse.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Class, defined by educational level, is a key dimension of difference.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of define?

B2,B2

Translations of define

in Chinese (Traditional)

解釋, 給（尤指單詞）下定義, 說明，解釋…

Meaning of define in English

define verb [T] (EXPLAIN)

define verb [T] (CLEARLY SHOW)

Related word

define | American Dictionary

define verb [T] (EXPLAIN)

define verb [T] (SHOW)

definable

define | Business English

Examples of define

Translations of define

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