Meanings
terminate1
present singular third person terminates · participle present terminating · participle past terminated · past terminated
- transitiveTo end something, especially when left in an incomplete state.
to terminate an effort, or a controversy
2 more examples
to terminate a process before its completion
During this interval of calm and prosperity, he terminated two figures of slaves, destined for the tomb, in an incomparable style of art.
1857, John Scandrett Harford, The Life of Michael Angelo Buonarroti - transitiveTo conclude.
- transitiveTo set or be a limit or boundary to.
to terminate a surface by a line
- transitiveTo form an appropriate end on (a wire, cable, hose, pipe, etc), such as by applying a cable terminal or a hose ferrule.
We'll rough them all in before we start terminating any of them.
- euphemistictransitiveTo kill someone or something.
The enemy must be terminated by any means possible.
- intransitiveTo end, conclude, or cease; to come to an end.
She unlocked the casket which contained her mother's picture, and gazed even more earnestly than usual on that beautiful face; its frank, glad smile was too painful; it seemed an omen of all that could make a joyous and beloved existence; and yet how had her's terminated!
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 102 - intransitiveOf a mode of transport, to end its journey; or, of a railway line, to reach its terminus.
This train terminates at the next station.
2 more examples
It is a branch that climbs for 11½ miles into the picturesque Wealden hills until, apparently exhausted by the effort, it terminates a mile short of the village of Hawkhurst.
1960 March, H. P. White, “The Hawkhurst branch of the Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 170After dropping off travellers at Foregate Street, my train terminates at Shrub Hill - a station which boasts one of the best selection [sic] of semaphore signals left in the country.
2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 67
terminate2
comparative more terminate · superlative most terminate
- Having a definite and clear limit or boundary; having a determinate size, shape or magnitude.
Mountains on the Moon cast shadows that are very dark, terminate and more distinct than those cast by mountains on the Earth.
- mathematicsExpressible in a finite number of terms; (of a decimal) not recurring or infinite.
One third is a recurring decimal, but one half is a terminate decimal.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo end the employment contract of an employee; to fire, lay off.
to end incompletely
antonym(s) of “to end incompletely”
More synonyms by meaning
verbhave an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
verbterminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
terminate · verb
- Latinterminātus
- Middle Englishterminaten“to bring to an end; to adjudicate; to end, stop; to border, confine, contain”
- Englishterminate
From Middle English terminaten (“to bring to an end; to adjudicate; to end, stop; to border, confine, contain”) from terminat(e) (“bounded”, also used as the past participle of terminaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin terminātus, perfect passive participle of terminō (“to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from terminus (“a bound, limit, end”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); see term, terminus. Doublet of termine, cognate with French terminer.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →terminate · adjective
- Middle Englishterminat(e)“bounded”
- Englishterminate
From Middle English terminat(e) (“bounded”, also used as the past participle of terminaten), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian приклю́чвам, приклю́ча
- приклю́чвам (prikljúčvam)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- приклю́ча (prikljúča)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- убивам (ubivam)to kill someone or something
Chinese Mandarin 結束 /结束, 終止 /终止
- 結束 /结束 (jiéshù)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- 終止 /终止 (zhōngzhǐ)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- 了結 /了结 (liǎojié)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- 解僱 /解雇 (jiěgù)to end the employment contract of
- 解約 /解约 (jiěyuē)to end the employment contract of
- 炒 (chǎo)to end the employment contract of
- 炒魷魚 /炒鱿鱼 (chǎo yóuyú)to end the employment contract of
- 殺害 /杀害 (shāhài)to kill someone or something
- 殺死 /杀死 (shāsǐ)to kill someone or something
- 解決 /解决 (jiějué)to kill someone or something
- 幹掉 /干掉 (gàndiào)to kill someone or something
- 幹 /干 (gàn)to kill someone or something
Dutch beëindigen, termineren
- beëindigento end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- terminerento end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Esperanto finiĝi
- finiĝiend, conclude, or cease
Finnish lopettaa, päättää
- lopettaato end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- päättääto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- irtisanoato end the employment contract of
French terminer
- terminerto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
German abbrechen, terminieren
- abbrechento end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- terminierento end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- entlassento end the employment contract of
Greek διακόπτω
- διακόπτω (diakópto)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Hebrew סיים
- סיים (siyém)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Hungarian (intrans.) abbamarad, megszakad
- (intrans.) abbamaradto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- megszakadto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- véget érto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- lejárto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- megszakítto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- véget vetto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- megszüntetto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- (intrans.) végződikto set or be a limit or boundary to
- lezárto set or be a limit or boundary to
- zárto set or be a limit or boundary to
- befejezto set or be a limit or boundary to
- végződtetto set or be a limit or boundary to
- végesmathematics: expressible in a finite number of terms; (of a decimal) not recurring or infinite
Irish cuir ar scor
- cuir ar scorto end the employment contract of
Italian cessare, terminare
- cessareto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- terminareto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Japanese 止める, 打ち切る
- 止める (yameru)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- 打ち切る (uchikiru)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- 解約する (kaiyaku suru)to end the employment contract of
- 解雇する (kaiko suru)to end the employment contract of
- 消す (kesu)to kill someone or something
Latin aboleō
- aboleōto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Māori porotūtuki, porotukituki
- porotūtukito end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- porotukitukito end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- tauporoto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- whakamututo end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- keremututo end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Portuguese terminar, cancelar
- terminarto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- cancelarto kill someone or something
Romanian termina
- terminato end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
Russian прекраща́ть, прекратить
- прекраща́ть (prekraščátʹ)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- прекратить (prekratitʹ)to end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- ограничивать (ograničivatʹ)to set or be a limit or boundary to
- ограничить (ograničitʹ)to set or be a limit or boundary to
- расторгать (rastorgatʹ)to end the employment contract of
- расторгнуть (rastorgnutʹ)to end the employment contract of
- убить (ubitʹ)to kill someone or something
Spanish terminar, destituir
- terminarto end something, especially when left in an incomplete state
- destituirto end the employment contract of
- cesantearto end the employment contract of
- terminarend, conclude, or cease
Yiddish אָפּזאָגן
- אָפּזאָגן (opzogn)to end the employment contract of
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
terminate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminate
“terminate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terminate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminate.
Source: terminate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.