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Synonyms

by definition

Idioms  

  1. According to prior determination, as a given. For example, This antibiotic is by definition the most effective now on the market. [1970s]

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.

"He seems to believe that any good-faith disagreement with his own interpretation of the law is, by definition, illegitimate," Schwinn told AFP.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

After all, by definition, concentration goes up whenever winning stocks keep winning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

First, scientists, by definition, don’t believe anything until it’s proven, and these things are often almost impossible to prove in the real world.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026

To reach that result, the government asserted that anyone who was never legally admitted to the country must, by definition, be “seeking admission” today.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2026

But immortality, by definition, means that we are never done, unless a scythe determines it to be so.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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.