definition

plural definitions

1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesA statement of the meaning of a word, word group, sign, or symbol; especially, a dictionary definition.

   Your definition of "elephant" needs to be more precise than "a big animal with large ears".

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   DEFINITIONS mean nothing unless the concept in the mind of the men who makes the definition is the same as that in the mind of the man who hears it.

   1925, Thomas R. Marshall, Recollections of Thomas R. Marshall, Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, →OL, page 65

   Phrases such as “woman of the moment” were added to equal the old saying of the “man of the moment.” And one of the definitions of “woman” now refers to a “person’s wife, girlfriend, or female lover,” as opposed to being tied to only a man.

   2020 November 9, Christina Zdanowicz, “Oxford dictionaries change ‘sexist’ and outdated definitions of the word ‘woman’”, in CNN

2. countableuncountableusuallyA clear instance conforming to the dictionary or textbook definition.

   Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy – it’s the very definition of a hidden gem

   2016 March 1, Stuart Heritage, “Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy - it’s the very definition of a hidden gem”, in The Guardian

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   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.

   2008 May, Shoeless Wayne Santos, “Baroque” (game review), GameAxis Unwired, Hardware Zone Pte, page 51

   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.

   2019 September 25, Chris Cilizza, “The Ukraine call ‘transcript’ is pretty darn close to a smoking gun”, in ThePo!nt, CNN

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

   Her comic genius is beyond definition.

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

   high-definition videos

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   The definition of a telescope.

   Improve the definition of an image.

9. countableuncountableClarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction.
10. countableuncountableSharp demarcation of outlines or limits.

    A jacket with distinct waist definition.

11. countableuncountablebodybuildingThe degree to which individual muscles are distinct on the body.
12. countableuncountablecomputingA statement which provides a previous declaration with a value or body of a subroutine (in the case of function).
13. countableuncountablemathematicsA statement that establishes the referent of a term or notation.
14. countableuncountablecrosswordingThe part of a cryptic clue which defines but does not indicate the solution.

    However, some clues include words that do not form part of the wordplay or the definition.

    2014, Henry Howarth, Learn How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords: A Course for Beginners, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 59