defining
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- nondefining adjective
- self-defining adjective
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.
Apple had a history defining first 50 years.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
Education, the defining aspiration of the Indian middle class, has stopped delivering on its promise.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
From age to age, defining what makes a Forsyte has grown trickier.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
“The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting — but where they are protesting,” Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, said during the press briefing.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026
What was really just a theatrical side show was now being enshrined in memory as the defining moment in the revolutionary drama.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
