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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.

By definition, there is usually only one chief in any organization.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

"By definition and by regulation. I think it will be perhaps a reset of the performance of everybody."

From BBC • May 6, 2025

By definition, official acceptance of extralegal paramilitary violence is the antithesis of the rule of law.

From Slate • Jan. 22, 2025

By definition, that meant there would be no primaries, open to popular Democrats like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024

By definition, aesthetic is “that which concerns the beautiful.”

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

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.