terminate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring to an end; put an end to.
to terminate a contract.
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to occur at or form the conclusion of.
The countess's soliloquy terminates the play.
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to bound or limit spatially; form or be situated at the extremity of.
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to dismiss from a job; fire.
to terminate employees during a recession.
verb (used without object)
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to end, conclude, or cease.
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(of a train, bus, or other public conveyance) to end a scheduled run at a certain place.
This train terminates in New York.
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to come to an end (often followed by at, in, orwith ).
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to issue or result (usually followed byin ).
verb
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to form, be, or put an end (to); conclude
to terminate a pregnancy
their relationship terminated amicably
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(tr) to connect (suitable circuitry) to the end of an electrical transmission line to absorb the energy and avoid reflections
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(intr) maths (of a decimal expansion) to have only a finite number of digits
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slang (tr) to kill (someone)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonterminativeadjective
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self-terminatingadjective
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self-terminativeadjective
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terminativeadjective
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terminatoryadjective
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unterminatedadjective
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unterminatingadjective
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unterminativeadjective
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nonterminativelyadverb
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terminativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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terminatesimple
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terminatessimple
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have terminatedperfect
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has terminatedperfect
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am terminatingprogressive
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are terminatingprogressive
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is terminatingprogressive
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have been terminatingperfect progressive
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has been terminatingperfect progressive
Past
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terminatedsimple
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had terminatedperfect
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was terminatingprogressive
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were terminatingprogressive
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had been terminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of terminate
1580–90; verbal use of late Middle English terminate (adjective) “limited,” from Latin terminātus, past participle of termināre. See term, -ate 1
Explanation
To terminate something is to bring it to an end. Period. Full stop. In ancient Rome, Terminus was the God of landmarks, boundaries, and endings. That’s why his annual party took place at the end of the year. You can imagine the guests walking around in their togas, going, “This party is so great, I wish it would never terminate.” Nowadays, terminate can be used to refer to bringing anything to an end — including one's job or a product line: "When the Weird Food Company announces plans to terminate production of its deep-fried chocolate-covered pickle line, it will be a sad day for lovers of strange snacks."
Vocabulary lists containing terminate
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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The Monroe Doctrine (1823)
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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.
Weeks later, the Mountain View City Council voted to terminate its contract with Flock.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2026
And the decision to terminate a Fed official can be reviewed by a court—another aspect that was contested by the government.
From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026
Organizations representing Haitian TPS holders sued DHS in March 2025 when then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first attempted to terminate TPS.
From Salon • Jun. 27, 2026
His administration moved to terminate the TPS status for 13 of those countries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
That man knew how hard the other armed forces had tried to terminate the Marines Corps, even while we did the hardest jobs on those islands.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
