determiner
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that determines.
-
Grammar. a member of a subclass of English limiting adjectival words that usually precede descriptive adjectives and include the articles the, a, and an, and any words that may substitute for them, as your, their, some, and each.
noun
-
a word, such as a number, article, possessive adjective, etc, that determines (limits) the meaning of a noun phrase, e.g. their in `their black cat'
-
a person or thing that determines
Etymology
Origin of determiner
Vocabulary lists containing determiner
Parts of Speech - High School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Language and Grammar - High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
Ridley said the Official Golf World Rankings are "a legitimate determiner of who the best players in the game are" and because the Masters is an invitational event they can "adjust as necessary".
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2024
"Nobody should be the sole determiner of their own biases, but they maintain that," Lubet added.
From Reuters • Nov. 13, 2023
If you think what's the number one determiner of your income level – it's your parents' income level, right?
From Salon • Mar. 18, 2023
“Whatever was ready was a primary determiner of what was next,” Mr. Zala said, explaining their shooting schedule and the sets they built.
From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2016
In the case of that in that boy, Miss Thistle- bottom got the function wrong, too: it’s determiner, not modifier.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
