discipline
Americannoun
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training to act in accordance with rules; drill.
military discipline.
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an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.
Sticking to specific and regular mealtimes is excellent discipline for many dieters.
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a branch of instruction or learning.
the disciplines of history and economics.
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punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
- Synonyms:
- castigation, chastisement
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the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc..
the harsh discipline of poverty.
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behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
good discipline in an army.
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a set or system of rules and regulations.
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Ecclesiastical. the system of government regulating the practice of a church as distinguished from its doctrine.
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an instrument of punishment, especially a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain religious communities.
verb (used with object)
noun
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training or conditions imposed for the improvement of physical powers, self-control, etc
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systematic training in obedience to regulations and authority
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the state of improved behaviour, etc, resulting from such training or conditions
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punishment or chastisement
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a system of rules for behaviour, methods of practice, etc
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a branch of learning or instruction
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the laws governing members of a Church
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a scourge of knotted cords
verb
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to improve or attempt to improve the behaviour, orderliness, etc, of by training, conditions, or rules
-
to punish or correct
Synonym Usage
See punish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disciplinernoun
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multidisciplinenoun
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predisciplinenoun
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subdisciplinenoun
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overdisciplineverb
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redisciplineverb (used with object)
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disciplinableadjective
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disciplinaladjective
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nondiscipliningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disciplinesimple
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disciplinessimple
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have disciplinedperfect
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has disciplinedperfect
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am discipliningprogressive
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are discipliningprogressive
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is discipliningprogressive
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have been discipliningperfect progressive
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has been discipliningperfect progressive
Past
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disciplinedsimple
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had disciplinedperfect
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was discipliningprogressive
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were discipliningprogressive
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had been discipliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discipline
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin disciplīna “instruction, tuition,” equivalent to discipul(us) “pupil, learner, trainee” + -ina noun suffix; see origin at disciple; see -ine 2
Explanation
When you have discipline, you have self-control. When you discipline children, you are either teaching them to be well-behaved, or you are punishing and correcting them. The origins of this word offer great clues about its current meanings. The Old French descepline referred to punishment and suffering. The Latin disciplina meant "teaching, learning." The Old English version referred to a branch of knowledge or field of study (so if you're really good at word origins, you might want to make etymology your discipline). Developing discipline as a form of training is a military concept that's more than 500 years old.
Vocabulary lists containing discipline
The Outsiders
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, 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:
Several private schools in Ohio and Virginia permit paddling as discipline even though those states outlaw corporal punishment in public schools.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
They refer to a discipline in disarray, write papers with titles like “How Sociology Can Save Itself” and blog about “Sociology’s Pervasively Dubious Assumptions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
His discipline and attention to detail, mixed with the athleticism Randolph noticed when watching him play basketball, made Wallace the perfect candidate to play football.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
In 2024 she was crowned British junior all-around champion, while earlier this year she won bronze at the British Championships in the senior women's all-around discipline.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Bateson knew that he needed a name for the discipline that was being born around him.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
"Only when both disciplines work closely together can a reliable disease mechanism be derived from a genetic variant."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026
Worldwide, the number of equine clones born a year pales in comparison to traditionally-bred horses, but those clones—and their offspring—are starting to emerge in the top echelons of different equestrian disciplines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Now cloning is becoming more popular in other disciplines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
The new union would cover more than 2,700 full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty across hundreds of disciplines in 22 schools and the USC libraries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
California’s Education Code, the set of laws and regulations that govern K-12 education in the nation’s most populous state, calls on all schools to offer courses in four arts disciplines: music, visual, theater, and dance.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Despite this, America’s 23.8 million millionaires report being more financially disciplined, confident, optimistic and clear about their finances than the average American.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential. Together with my coaching staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious and brave enough to compete with the very best."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
And he stayed disciplined as Nola tried to get him to chase a fastball up and two breaking balls in the dirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“We put a much more disciplined approach in eliminating or reducing traveled work, not moving the airplane if it adds any kind of a safety or quality risk,” Ortberg said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Beyond the statistics, Gaines also thought they would never find a player who was more dedicated or disciplined.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
The solicitors firm added that the ambulance trust was "not formally disciplining" staff but had "strengthened their HR process for future incidents".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Rate hikes aimed at disciplining speculation can do more than cool the room.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
“By arresting Villarreal, rather than solely disciplining the employee for any wrongdoing, county officials took this ‘everyday journalism’ and transformed it ‘into a crime,’ ” she wrote.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2026
Schools have also become much more lenient in disciplining students.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
There are three afternoon announcements after the usual list of kids who need to report to the vice principal for disciplining.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Definitions 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.
