syllabus
noun
an outline or other brief statement of the main points of a discourse, the subjects of a course of lectures, the contents of a curriculum, etc.
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O-Level syllabus.
syllabus
American
[sil-uh-buhs]
/ ˈsɪl ə bəs /
noun
-
syllabuses,
plural
-
syllabi
plural
-
an outline or other brief statement of the main points of a discourse, the subjects of a course of lectures, the contents of a curriculum, etc.
-
Law.
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a short summary of the legal basis of a court's decision appearing at the beginning of a reported case.
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a book containing summaries of the leading cases in a legal field, used especially by students.
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Also called Syllabus of Errors. (often initial capital letter) the list of 80 propositions condemned as erroneous by Pope Pius IX in 1864.
syllabus
1
British
/ ˈsɪləbəs /
noun
-
an outline of a course of studies, text, etc
-
-
the subjects studied for a particular course
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a document which lists these subjects and states how the course will be assessed
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Syllabus
2
British
/ ˈsɪləbəs /
noun
-
Also called: Syllabus of Errors. a list of 80 doctrinal theses condemned as erroneous by Pius IX in 1864
-
a list of 65 Modernist propositions condemned as erroneous by Pius X in 1907
Usage
Plural word for syllabus The plural form of syllabus can be either syllabuses or syllabi, pronounced [ sil-uh-bahy ], but syllabi is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words ending in -us are also formed in this way, such as virus/viruses, sinus/sinuses, and walrus/walruses. Irregular plurals that are formed like syllabi, such as cactus/cacti and fungus/fungi, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -es ending is often also acceptable for these terms, as in cactuses.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of syllabus
1650–60; < New Latin syllabus, syllabos, probably a misreading (in manuscripts of Cicero) of Greek síttybās, accusative plural of síttyba label for a papyrus roll
Explanation
A syllabus is a document that outlines everything that will be covered in a class. A syllabus for World Domination 101 might include: strategies for brainwashing the masses, creating an army on a budget, cultivating absolute certainty, and so on. The noun syllabus comes from the Late Latin word syllabus, meaning “list.” When you teach a class you may be required to make an outline of what you will expect the students to do in your class. That’s the syllabus. A syllabus could vaguely mention the topics that will be covered each week or it can be a detailed synopsis of every reading assignment, homework expectation, and exam question. Syllabus style is the teacher’s choice.
Vocabulary lists containing syllabus
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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The Vocabulary of College
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Education and Academics, List 2
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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:
His challenge was to make this lesson more than just another unit on the syllabus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I revised the syllabus to accommodate the expanding model.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
At universities, the ban has restricted access to online research and course materials, with one Herat student saying he had used his phone to help with about half the syllabus.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
He has a son in Year 10 and twin daughters in Year 9, and said the amount of work given, "without the syllabus to back it up", had been difficult.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
I expect another syllabus but am surprised to see it’s called Living Wax Museum.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
At present, Open Syllabus Explorer searches more than 1 million syllabuses dating back to 2000, cross-referenced with 20 million texts, to produce data on how often a text is taught.
From Nature ● Oct. 30, 2016
Her Syllabus course paired up graduate students and preschoolers as co-researchers, stressing that it should be an equal exchange.
From The Guardian ● May 14, 2015
Syllabus for the class can be found here.
From Forbes ● Dec. 12, 2014
A version of this review appears in print on April 8, 2014, on page C4 of the with the headline: Bach Is on the Spring Syllabus.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2014
Gradually, this informal history grew into a course of study, constructed by the High Organ, which became known as Syllabus A, involving two years of lectures on the ANC and the liberation struggle.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
To ensure the classes actually meet that objective, professors will have to make their syllabi publicly available.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Students hesitate before volunteering their opinions in class, while faculty appear more cautious, even including disclaimers in their syllabi.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2025
While most of his peers were still swapping syllabi and feeling out new professors, Mahdawi had started his day not in a classroom, but in immigration court—virtually, on Webex.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2025
Reges then wrote to an Allen School listserv saying he would continue putting his parody land acknowledgment in syllabi.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
I still have the syllabi from all my classes, and David’s been bringing me assignments.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Campus syllabuses have been pared down to accommodate this generational change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The story won the Paris Review’s 2013 Plimpton Prize for Fiction and has appeared on syllabuses at other universities.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
And it’s not just judges; it’s the litigants, the lawyers, the law professors who have to tear up their syllabuses.
From Slate ● May 14, 2024
The book that first lifted Caro to fame and made him a staple of journalism-school syllabuses is “The Power Broker,” his novelistic 1974 portrait of cutthroat New York city planner Robert Moses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
It is easy for us of the Twentieth Century to laugh at the syllabuses which the Department issued, without misgiving, year after year, in the latter half of the Nineteenth.
From What Is and What Might Be A Study of Education in General and Elementary Education in Particular by Edmond Holmes
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