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definite article

noun Grammar.
  1. an article, as English the, that classes as identified or definite the noun it modifies.
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Origin of definite article

First recorded in 1755–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for definite article

definite article

noun
  1. grammar a determiner that expresses specificity of reference, such as the in EnglishCompare indefinite article
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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
definite article in Culture

definite article

The word the; the article that precedes names of specific items: “the dog,” “the boats,” “the heavy anchor.” (Compare indefinite article.)

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.