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
- nonterminative adjective
- nonterminatively adverb
- self-terminating adjective
- self-terminative adjective
- terminative adjective
- terminatively adverb
- terminatory adjective
- unterminated adjective
- unterminating adjective
- unterminative adjective
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
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.
He joins a growing number of politicians looking to terminate the 64-year-old policy.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
“In the unlikely event that you ever need to terminate the trust, you may do so if the trustees and beneficiaries agree.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Binance said that it didn’t terminate any investigators for escalating compliance concerns and that they left on individual circumstances.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Discovery board is now free to terminate its agreement with the streaming giant and proceed with Paramount.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
While he thought the Constitution was crystal clear that Congress could not restrict or terminate the slave trade before 1808, it did not prohibit the members of the House from talking about the issue.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
