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term

A term is a word or expression used with a particular meaning. "Rap," "punk," "grunge," and "heavy metal" are terms that describe particular styles of music. "Sweetie" is a term of endearment, at least to most people.

Terms can also mean the conditions of an agreement: when you rent an apartment, you agree to certain terms — that you'll pay the rent, you won't have loud parties, etc. If you're "on good terms with someone," you like each other. Term can also be a defined period of time. Spring term at school is the spring semester, and you may be assigned a term paper — to demonstrate how brilliant you've become during that time period.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: term

1
 nv
a limited period of time
name formally or designate with a term
2
 n
a word or expression used for some particular thing
3
 n
any distinct quantity contained in a polynomial
4
 n
(architecture) a statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar; originally used as a boundary marker in ancient Rome
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: term
1

n a limited period of time

“a prison term”
“he left school before the end of term”
Types:
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prison term, sentence, time
the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned
academic session, academic term, school term, session
the time during which a school holds classes
incumbency, tenure, term of office
the term during which some position is held
hard time
a term served in a maximum security prison
life, life sentence
a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives
summer school
an academic session during the summer; usually for remedial or supplementary study
semester
one of two divisions of an academic year
trimester
one of three divisions of an academic year
quarter
one of four periods into which the school year is divided
administration, presidency, presidential term
the tenure of a president
vice-presidency, vice-presidential term
the tenure of a vice president
episcopate
the term of office of a bishop
Type of:
period, period of time, time period
an amount of time

n the end of gestation or point at which birth is imminent

Synonyms:
full term
Type of:
point, point in time
an instant of time

v name formally or designate with a term

Type of:
call, name
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
2

n a word or expression used for some particular thing

“he learned many medical terms”
Types:
referent
something that refers; a term that refers to another term
Type of:
word
a unit of language that native speakers can identify

n (usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement

“the terms of the treaty were generous”
Synonyms:
condition
Type of:
statement
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc

n one of the substantive phrases in a logical proposition

“the major term of a syllogism must occur twice”
Types:
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subject
(logic) the first term of a proposition
predicate
(logic) what is predicated of the subject of a proposition; the second term in a proposition is predicated of the first term by means of the copula
referent
the first term in a proposition; the term to which other terms relate
relatum
a term in a proposition that is related to the referent of the proposition
categorem, categoreme
a categorematic expression; a term capable of standing alone as the subject or predicate of a logical proposition
major term
the term in a syllogism that is the predicate of the conclusion
minor term
the term in a syllogism that is the subject of the conclusion
middle term
the term in a syllogism that is common to both premises and excluded from the conclusion
Type of:
constituent, grammatical constituent
(grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction
3

n any distinct quantity contained in a polynomial

“the general term of an algebraic equation of the n-th degree”
Type of:
quantity
the concept that something has a magnitude and can be represented in mathematical expressions by a constant or a variable
4

n (architecture) a statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar; originally used as a boundary marker in ancient Rome

Synonyms:
terminal figure, terminus
Type of:
statue
a sculpture representing a human or animal
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