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
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.
In a new filing Friday, they requested that the Board of Immigration Appeals, part of the US Department of Justice, re-open Khalil's case and terminate it.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Milner traveled to Virginia to terminate her pregnancy, and when she returned, she learned that she had developed an infection because of a delay in receiving care.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
US law requires a president to "terminate any use of United States Armed Forces" within 60 days of such a notification - unless Congress allows a continuation.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
The lawyer for Syrians challenging the determination said federal law required the Homeland Security Secretary to consult the State Department about conditions in a foreign state before deciding whether to terminate a program.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Neal moved to Ascend Communications, which built little boxes to terminate Internet signals and was acquired by Lucent Technologies in 1999 for $24 billion, one of the largest acquisitions in history.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
