function word

noun

a word, as a preposition, article, auxiliary, or pronoun, that chiefly expresses grammatical relationships, has little semantic content of its own, and belongs to a small, closed class of words whose membership is relatively fixed (distinguished from content word).

Origin of function word

First recorded in 1935–40

Also called form word.

Words Nearby function word

function creep
functioning
function key
function shift
function space
function word
functor
fund
fundament
fundamental
fundamental bass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for function word

function word

noun

grammar a word, such as the, with a particular grammatical role but little identifiable meaning: Compare content word, grammatical meaning

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

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