description
American
noun
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a statement or account that describes; representation in words
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the act, process, or technique of describing
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sort, kind, or variety
reptiles of every description
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geometry the act of drawing a line or figure, such as an arc
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philosophy a noun phrase containing a predicate that may replace a name as the subject of a sentence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of description
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English descripcioun, from Latin dēscrīptiōn-, stem of dēscrīptiō, from dēscrīpt(us) “described” (past participle of dēscrībere “to copy, draw, transcribe”; see describe) + -iō -ion
Explanation
A description puts something in words, like a portrait puts a person in paint. The lawnmower you came home with did not quite fit the description of the dishwasher you went shopping for. The root for description is the Latin word descriptio, meaning “to write down.” The “script” in description tells you that a good description makes what it describes come to life, like a script for a movie. Your description of that fudge almond swirl ice cream was so good I could taste it! Unfortunately, I'm allergic to nuts.
Vocabulary lists containing description
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Keeping calm under pressure comes with the job description, but there's a sense it's what's expected from fans and team-mates.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
According to the listing description, the separate spaces could be transformed into a home office, fitness area, or creative studio, depending on the next owner’s needs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The Maryland team also used a hybrid quantum system, but their experiment focused on simulating the Yukawa potential, a mathematical description of an interaction relevant to nuclear and particle physics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan and left-hander Justin Wrobleski could fit that description.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
I had seen Bunny in the post office, in the first week of school, talking rather officiously to a girl of this description.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
It also relied on participants' self-reported information, including relatively broad descriptions of when they ate.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
One group read brief descriptions of artificial agents that showed different levels of responsiveness to their environments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Industry officials said both descriptions vastly oversimplify things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
We can’t explain the pain of seeing descriptions of Christa’s injuries on routine government documents, or of every subsequent horror we’ve faced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
