incomplete

American  

[in-kuhm-pleet] / ˌɪn kəmˈplit /

adjective

1. not complete; lacking some part.

   Synonyms:

   fragmentary, partial, unfinished

2. Football. (of a forward pass) not completed; not caught by a receiver.

3. Engineering. noting a truss the panel points of which are not entirely connected so as to form a system of triangles.

4. Logic, Philosophy.

   1. (of an expression or symbol) meaningful only in a specific context.

   2. (of a set of axioms) such that there is at least one true proposition (able to be formulated in terms of the basic ideas of a given system) that is not deducible from the set.

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noun

1. Education. a temporary grade indicating that a student has not fulfilled one or more of the essential requirements for a course.

   If I don't hand in my term paper for last semester's English course, the professor is going to change my incomplete to an F.

incomplete British  

/ ˌɪnkəmˈpliːt /

adjective

1. not complete or finished

2. not completely developed; imperfect

3. logic

   1. (of a formal theory) not so constructed that the addition of a non-theorem to the axioms renders it inconsistent

   2. (of an expression) not having a reference of its own but requiring completion by another expression

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Other Word Forms

• incompletely adverb
• incompleteness noun
• subincomplete adjective

Etymology

Origin of incomplete

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word incomplētus. See in- ³, complete

Explanation

Something incomplete is missing a part or unfinished. Incomplete things are not whole. A football pass that falls short is incomplete and so is an outfit without a shirt. A bridge to nowhere? Incomplete. Incomplete describes things that are missing something. A chess set with a lost piece is incomplete. Incomplete also means “unfinished,” like that incomplete bridge to nowhere. People often feel their lives are incomplete until they do something like have a family or make a certain amount of money. You might get an incomplete grade for a class if your teacher is going to let you make up work you missed. When something's incomplete, part of that thing is missing or undone

Example Sentences

Speeding ahead with an incomplete return raises several headaches.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

"When I saw the incomplete mandibular symphysis, I was genuinely excited," says Professor Benoit.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

The process provides an incomplete picture of road health, according to Waymo and Waze.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

The result was the teaching of an incomplete history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Swift published this incomplete text posthumously in 1701.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• deficient
• fragmentary
• inadequate
• insufficient
• lacking
• partial
• sketchy