terminology
Americannoun
-
terminologies
plural
-
the system of terms belonging or peculiar to a science, art, or specialized subject; nomenclature.
the terminology of botany.
-
the science of terms, as in particular sciences or arts.
noun
-
the body of specialized words relating to a particular subject
-
the study of terms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of terminology
1795–1805; < Medieval Latin termin ( us ) term + -o- + -logy
Explanation
Terminology is vocabulary associated with a certain field of study, profession, or activity. Knowing the terminology is an important part of being able to work in a given profession. When your nuclear physicist friends start talking shop and it suddenly sounds like they are speaking a different language, they are probably using nuclear physics terminology. Education terminology includes "rubric," "lesson plan," "pop quiz," "term paper," "student engagement." Medical terminology includes "blood work," "CVC," "scalpel," "set." Lawyers sometimes use legal terminology such as "forthwith," "heretofore" and "the part of the first part" to intimidate people they might want to threaten to sue. It works.
Vocabulary lists containing terminology
Power Suffix: -ology
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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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:
Her inadvertent gaffes with industry terminology might make her seem silly and out of her depth.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
The petition describes it as "medical misogyny", adding: "Women deserve terminology that respects them."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Patients, however, rarely describe symptoms using standardized medical terminology.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Before paying medical bills, contact the provider and ask for an itemized bill that contains current procedural terminology, or CPT, codes, which are basically the lingo and the coding that the medical industry uses.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Why was I so bad at the terminology?
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Or a long series of practice reps to better understand new systems and terminologies.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2022
"It's just this connector, but what we're talking about with this is gendered terminologies which are used to describe technology," says Ms Bullesbach.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2022
“They’ll use any platform available, and they will adjust their methods to evade detection, like switching terminologies and using code words.”
From National Geographic ● Dec. 18, 2020
Communicating court terminologies is different to speaking for an asylum seeker in counselling, or a child in speech therapy, where a professional relies on my exact delivery to form a proper opinion.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 20, 2019
“Oh, you know—when you have millennia of memories in this mortal mind, it’s hard to remember terminologies all the time.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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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.
