type-token distinction

noun

The distinction between a type of something and an instance of it, such as city and capital city (type of city) versus city and Paris (instance of a city). (It is the difference between (1) hypernym and hyponym and (2) class and instance.)

“They're making several type-token distinctions in this paragraph.”

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Meanings

nountype-token distinction (plural type-token distinctions)

plural type-token distinctions

  1. The distinction between a type of something and an instance of it, such as city and capital city (type of city) versus city and Paris (instance of a city). (It is the difference between (1) hypernym and hyponym and (2) class and instance.)

    Without the type-token distinction being made, some silly thinking can slip through.

  2. An instance of this distinction being made.

    They're making several type-token distinctions in this paragraph.

Cite this entry
APA

type-token distinction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/type-token%20distinction

MLA

“type-token distinction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/type-token%20distinction. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “type-token distinction,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/type-token%20distinction.

Source: type-token distinction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.