episode

[ ep-uh-sohd, -zohd ]

noun

1. an incident in the course of a series of events, in a person's life or experience, etc.

   Synonyms: happening

2. an incident, scene, etc., within a narrative, usually fully developed and either integrated within the main story or digressing from it.
3. one of a number of loosely connected, but usually thematically related, scenes or stories constituting a literary work.
4. epeisodion.
5. Music. an intermediate or digressive passage, especially in a contrapuntal composition.
6. Movies, Radio, and Television. any one of the separate productions that constitute a serial.

episode

/ ˈɛpɪˌsəʊd /

noun

1. an incident, event, or series of events
2. any one of the sections into which a serialized novel or radio or television programme is divided
3. an incident, sequence, or scene that forms part of a narrative but may be a digression from the main story
4. (in ancient Greek tragedy) a section between two choric songs
5. music a contrasting section between statements of the subject, as in a fugue or rondo

Word History and Origins

Origin of episode¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from Greek epeisódion “addition, parenthetic narrative, episode,” noun use of neuter of epeisódios “coming in addition,” equivalent to ep- ep- + eísod(os) “entrance” ( eis- “into” + (h)odós “road, way”) + -ios adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of episode¹

C17: from Greek epeisodion something added, from epi- (in addition) + eisodios coming in, from eis- in + hodos road

Synonym Study

See event.

Example Sentences

In the first episode, an officer is shown video of himself shooting and killing a man.

From The Daily Beast

Hopefully not overly close, but we talk about it in the episode how similar it is.

From The Daily Beast

It was a very faithful homage to a Six Million Dollar Man episode.

From The Daily Beast

I watch every episode alone on my couch and I just sit there and laugh, and laugh.

From The Daily Beast

In “Steal This Episode,” the filmmaker denounces Homer Simpson as an “enemy of art.”

From The Daily Beast

Hemingburgh makes Bruce speak to his father's vassals before the Irvine episode as a Scotsman, at any rate by descent.

From Project Gutenberg

The latter episode is recorded as a separate foray, but probably it belongs to the August operations.

From Project Gutenberg

One of these leads past Charlecote, famous for Shakespeare's deer-stealing episode, but no longer open to the public.

From Project Gutenberg

But an episode occurred during the siege which, for some time, caused his name to be execrated by the Austrians.

From Project Gutenberg

The whole episode contrasts markedly with the exploit of Bishop Sinclair in Fife.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• chapter
• event
• experience
• incident
• installment
• matter
• thing