description
Americannoun
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a statement or account that describes; representation in words
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the act, process, or technique of describing
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sort, kind, or variety
reptiles of every description
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geometry the act of drawing a line or figure, such as an arc
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philosophy a noun phrase containing a predicate that may replace a name as the subject of a sentence
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of description
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English descripcioun, from Latin dēscrīptiōn-, stem of dēscrīptiō, from dēscrīpt(us) “described” (past participle of dēscrībere “to copy, draw, transcribe”; see describe) + -iō -ion
Explanation
A description puts something in words, like a portrait puts a person in paint. The lawnmower you came home with did not quite fit the description of the dishwasher you went shopping for. The root for description is the Latin word descriptio, meaning “to write down.” The “script” in description tells you that a good description makes what it describes come to life, like a script for a movie. Your description of that fudge almond swirl ice cream was so good I could taste it! Unfortunately, I'm allergic to nuts.
Vocabulary lists containing description
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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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.
Researchers provided the first detailed description and illustrations of the female internal genitalia of Pikelinia fasciata, a species first identified in 1902.
From Science Daily • May 1, 2026
The companies on Thursday resubmitted their merger application to U.S. regulators, this time including a description of conditions that would compel Union Pacific to walk away from the merger.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
Carter also said Calocane was a "different person completely" when he was unwell and initially defended a description of him being "polite" and "personable" in his records.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
Indeed, the March FOMC-meeting minutes noted that “some participants judged that there was a strong case for a two-sided description of the committee’s future interest-rate decisions in the post-meeting statement.‘
From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026
Regan shrugged and turned her attention back to O’Reilly and his description of matching knitwear common to that time period.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
