termination

American  

[tur-muh-ney-shuhn] / ˌtɜr məˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

• terminations
  plural

1. the act of terminating

2. the fact of being terminated.

3. the place or part where anything terminates; bound or limit.

4. an end or extremity; close or conclusion.

5. an issue or result.

6. Grammar. a suffix or ending.

7. an ending of employment with a specific employer.

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termination British  

/ ˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of terminating or the state of being terminated

2. something that terminates

3. a final result

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Usage

What does termination mean? Termination is the act of bringing something to an end or the physical end of something. Termination is the noun form of the verb terminate, meaning to bring an end to. It also means to fire someone from a job, and termination is perhaps most commonly used as a way to refer to this process or its result, as in His employment with the company ended in termination. Example: The termination of the program last year hurt the many people who relied on its benefits.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontermination
  noun
• terminational
  adjective
• unterminational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• terminations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of termination

1400–50; late Middle English terminacion < Latin terminātiōn- (stem of terminātiō ) decision. See terminate, -ion

Explanation

Whether it refers to getting fired from a job, a contract running out, or the assassination of a deep-cover spy, termination is "the end of the line." You may be familiar with a certain time-traveling cyborg assassin, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. His character was a "terminator," in a movie of the same name, and his goal was the termination of Sarah Connor. Lucky for Sarah, and the supposed future of our planet, the termination was unsuccessful. In the real world, you're more likely to see the word termination used when a contract, program, or job comes to an end, unexpectedly or as planned.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

termination terminations

The department is facing scores of lawsuits by officers who claim they faced retaliation after speaking out in the form of poor job evaluations, harassment, demotions and even termination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Among its specific findings was that 108 of the 264 leases identified by Doge for termination were already in the process of ending before the body was established.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Most seniors won’t see a premium increase next year as a result of the subsidy’s termination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Despite these confessions, department spokesman Ben Dietderich told me that “none of the termination decisions were based on political considerations.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The reporters looked at one another, incredulous at the abrupt termination.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

In the view of lower courts, the bar on judicial review doesn’t apply to “procedural errors” underlying the terminations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

If it holds, the terminations are void and the government cannot reimpose them.

From Slate ● May 14, 2026

The terminations took effect in the fall, with those who had work authorizations until October 2026 permitted to keep them.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026

These simulations provided detailed insight into how different surface terminations influence both stability and electronic behavior.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026

The "–cene" terminations were thus something of a compromise.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• completion
• expiry