context
Americannoun
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the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect.
You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.
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the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
- Synonyms:
- climate, milieu, background
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Mycology. the fleshy fibrous body of the pileus in mushrooms.
noun
-
the parts of a piece of writing, speech, etc, that precede and follow a word or passage and contribute to its full meaning
it is unfair to quote out of context
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the conditions and circumstances that are relevant to an event, fact, etc
Usage
What is context? Context is a noun that means the parts of a statement that immediately precede or follow a specific section of the statement and help explain that section. The context of a specific text clarifies the meaning of that text, as in When the politician was asked to apologize for lying, he claimed that he had been quoted out of context and that he wasn’t actually lying. Context is also the conditions related to an event or situation that helps a person understand the event or situation. Conditions can include surroundings (where something took place), circumstances (what else was happening at the time), and background (such as events that happened before). For example, the context of a historical event, such as what else was happening at the time and how people understood their environment, can help us better understand the event itself.One common expression that uses word context is context clues. Context clues are hints within a piece of writing that help us understand something unfamiliar, such as a word. For example, if you came across the word ethereal in a text, context clues could help you figure out that it means "delicate" and "beautiful." Another common expression that includes the word context is out of context. This expression is used to explain that the reason people understood a statement or text incorrectly was because the statement was removed from its surrounding text, which distorted its meaning. Example: Understanding the historical and scientific contexts of the Romantic period are essential to understanding Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.”
Other Word Forms
- contextless adjective
Etymology
Origin of context
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin contextus “a joining together, scheme, structure,” past participle of contexere “to join by weaving,” equivalent to con- con- + texere “to plait, weave”; text
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 approved of the AI requesting age and other information for context, and said its “bottom line”—that long-term risk is never zero—was correct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
As with all Labor Department reports, the rosy top-line numbers require the context of their underlying trends—and those aren’t looking so pretty.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
It said the release was taking place "in the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week, which is a customary practice in our criminal justice system".
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
As impressed with “The Drama” as I am, it would be insincere not to look at Borgli’s film in a wider context.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
I hadn’t meant to, but I guess I’d been thinking of him kind of as a teacher—like he only existed in the context of school and our egg drop.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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.
