termination

American  

[tur-muh-ney-shuhn] / ˌtɜr məˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

• terminations
  plural

1. the act of terminating

2. the fact of being terminated.

3. the place or part where anything terminates; bound or limit.

4. an end or extremity; close or conclusion.

5. an issue or result.

6. Grammar. a suffix or ending.

7. an ending of employment with a specific employer.

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termination British  

/ ˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of terminating or the state of being terminated

2. something that terminates

3. a final result

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Usage

What does termination mean? Termination is the act of bringing something to an end or the physical end of something. Termination is the noun form of the verb terminate, meaning to bring an end to. It also means to fire someone from a job, and termination is perhaps most commonly used as a way to refer to this process or its result, as in His employment with the company ended in termination. Example: The termination of the program last year hurt the many people who relied on its benefits.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontermination
  noun
• terminational
  adjective
• unterminational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• terminations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of termination

1400–50; late Middle English terminacion < Latin terminātiōn- (stem of terminātiō ) decision. See terminate, -ion

Explanation

Whether it refers to getting fired from a job, a contract running out, or the assassination of a deep-cover spy, termination is "the end of the line." You may be familiar with a certain time-traveling cyborg assassin, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. His character was a "terminator," in a movie of the same name, and his goal was the termination of Sarah Connor. Lucky for Sarah, and the supposed future of our planet, the termination was unsuccessful. In the real world, you're more likely to see the word termination used when a contract, program, or job comes to an end, unexpectedly or as planned.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

termination terminations

That’s where I’m stuck, and where I’m hoping you can help: Is there any meaningful recourse against an administrator that provides essentially no notice before a network termination like this?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

When asked about the impact of TPS termination, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that "Temporary Protected Status is exactly that - temporary".

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that the truce did not “signify the termination of the war.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

“The penalty of termination imposed on the grievant was absolutely disproportional,” Miller Espinosa wrote in her decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

By then the judge had changed our goal from reunification to termination of Lorraine’s and Dusty’s parental rights.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

In the year since Kirk's killing, dozens of lawsuits have been filed across the country by people fired for their comments about the activist, arguing their terminations violated their rights to free speech.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

In the view of lower courts, the bar on judicial review doesn’t apply to “procedural errors” underlying the terminations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

If it holds, the terminations are void and the government cannot reimpose them.

From Slate ● May 14, 2026

The terminations took effect in the fall, with those who had work authorizations until October 2026 permitted to keep them.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026

The "–cene" terminations were thus something of a compromise.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• completion
• expiry