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metaphysics

American  
[met-uh-fiz-iks] / ˌmɛt əˈfɪz ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

  1. the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology.

  2. philosophy, especially in its more abstruse branches.

  3. the underlying theoretical principles of a subject or field of inquiry.

  4. (initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with first principles, the relation of universals to particulars, and the teleological doctrine of causation.

metaphysics British  
/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪsɪst, ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks, ˌmɛtəfɪˈzɪʃən /

noun

  1. the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing

  2. the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc

  3. See descriptive metaphysics

  4. (popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning

"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
metaphysics Cultural  

  1. The field in philosophy that studies ultimate questions, such as whether every event has a cause and what things are genuinely real.

Other Word Forms

  • metaphysician noun

Etymology

Origin of metaphysics

First recorded in 1560–70; from Medieval Latin metaphysica, from Medieval Greek (tà) metaphysiká (neuter plural), Greek tà metà tà physiká “the (works) after the Physics ”; with reference to the arrangement of Aristotle's writings

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.

The company named the core of its product, Ontology, after the branch of metaphysics that studies existence.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

That friendship, though strengthened by economic ties, is rooted in metaphysics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

A new staging presented by Bedlam makes a valiant effort to adapt Stoppard’s cerebral probes into chaos theory, Newtonian law, thermodynamics and metaphysics for a 2023 audience, but the result is a muddled one.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2023

His first role at the University of Naples was to lecture on logic and metaphysics.

From Scientific American • Aug. 16, 2023

He listened to philosophic discussions, to metaphysics, to esthetics, to impersonal experience.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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.