English
term
Pronunciation Etymology 1

From Middle English terme, borrowed from Old French terme, from {{der|en|la|terminus|t=a bound, boundary, limit, end; in Medieval Latin -, also a time, period, word, covenant, etc.

Noun

term (plural terms)

  1. That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus#Noun.
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC ↗:
      Corruption is a reciprocal to generation, and they two are as nature's two terms, or boundaries.
    • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC ↗, page 268 ↗:
      At the decline of day,
      Winding above the mountain’s snowy term,
      New banners shone: […]
    "Alright, look...we can spend the holidays with your parents, but this time it will be on my terms."
  2. A chronological limitation or restriction, a limited timespan.
    The term of a lease agreement is the period of time during which the lease is effective, and may be fixed, periodic, or of indefinite duration.
  3. Any of the binding conditions or promises in a legal contract.
    Be sure to read the terms and conditions before signing.
  4. Specifically, the conditions in a legal contract that specify the price#Noun and also how and when payment#Noun must be made.
    Q: What are your company's terms? A: Net thirty, cash or check. [This answer means that the net total must be paid within 30 days; see Net D.]
    The latest models are available now, on the lowest terms you'll find anywhere, guaranteed.
    • 1793 May 17, John Constable and James Piper, advertisement for a packet-boat between Chestertown and Baltimore, Chestertown, Maryland, Packet_Schooner.jpg:
      The Cabin is large and commodious, well calculated for the Accommodation of Paſengers. Merchandiſe, Produce, &c. carried on the loweſt Terms.
  5. (geometry, archaic) A point, line, or superficies that limits.
    A line is the term of a superficies, and a superficies is the term of a solid.
  6. A word or phrase (e.g., noun phrase, verb phrase, open compound), especially one from a specialised area of knowledge; a name for a concept.
    "Algorithm" is a term used in computer science.
    The noun phrase "red blood cell", the acronym "RBC", and the word "erythrocyte" are synonymous terms.
  7. Relations among people.
    We are on friendly terms with each other.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:
      Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and had perhaps spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
  8. Part of a year, especially one of the divisions of an academic year.
  9. Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.
    He was sentenced to a term of six years in prison.
    near-term, mid-term and long-term goals
    the term allowed to a debtor to discharge his debt
    1. The time during which legal courts are open.
    2. Certain days on which rent is paid.
  10. With respect to a pregnancy, the period during which birth usually happens (approximately 40 weeks from conception).
    at term
    preterm
    postterm
  11. (of a patent) The maximum period during which the patent can be maintained into force.
  12. (archaic) A menstrual period.
    • 1660, Samuel Pepys, Diary:
      My wife, after the absence of her terms for seven weeks, gave me hopes of her being with child, but on the last day of the year she hath them again.
  13. (mathematics) Any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a space or an appropriate character, in an overall expression or table.
    All the terms of this sum cancel out.
    One only term is odd in ( 12; 3; 4 ).
  14. (logic) The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.
    • 1859–1860, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC ↗:
      The subject and predicate of a proposition are, after Aristotle, together called its terms or extremes.
  15. (astrology) An essential dignity in which unequal segments of every astrological sign have internal rulerships which affect the power and integrity of each planet in a natal chart.
  16. (arts) A statue of the upper body, sometimes without the arms, ending in a pillar or pedestal. [from 17th c.]
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii ↗:
      The pillers that haue bolſtered vp thoſe tearmes,
      Are falne in cluſters at my conquering feet.
  17. (nautical) A piece of carved work placed under each end of the taffrail.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

term (terms, present participle terming; simple past and past participle termed)

  1. (transitive) To phrase a certain way; to name or call.
Synonyms Adjective

term (not comparable)

  1. (medicine, colloquial) Born or delivered at term.
    term neonate
Noun

term (plural terms)

  1. (computing, informal) A computer program that emulates a physical terminal.
Etymology 3

Short for terminate, termination, terminated employee, etc.

Verb

term (terms, present participle terming; simple past and past participle termed)

  1. (ambitransitive) To terminate one's employment
Synonyms Noun

term (plural terms)

  1. One whose employment has been terminated


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