content word
noun
a word, typically a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, that carries semantic content, bearing reference to the world independently of its use within a particular sentence (distinguished from function word).
Origin of content word
1First recorded in 1935–40
Words Nearby content word
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for content word
content word
/ (ˈkɒntɛnt) /
noun
a word to which an independent meaning can be given by reference to a world outside any sentence in which the word may occur: Compare function word, lexical meaning
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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