defining

American  

[dih-fahy-ning] / dɪˈfaɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. decisive; critically important.

   Taking a course in architecture was a defining turn in her life.

---

Other Word Forms

• nondefining adjective
• self-defining adjective

Example Sentences

This is a month that will go a long way to defining City's season.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

“Job stability has become the defining feature of today’s workforce,” they wrote.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

This discovery fills that gap and provides direct evidence of when these defining features first appeared.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

The splitter and its devastating sinking action had been the defining pitch of the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Race plays a major role—indeed, a defining role—in the current system, but not because of what is commonly understood as old-fashioned, hostile bigotry.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander