termination
Americannoun
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the act of terminating
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the fact of being terminated.
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the place or part where anything terminates; bound or limit.
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an end or extremity; close or conclusion.
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an issue or result.
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Grammar. a suffix or ending.
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an ending of employment with a specific employer.
noun
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the act of terminating or the state of being terminated
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something that terminates
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a final result
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing termination
"The Cask of Amontillado"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
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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.
There is a termination fee for both companies of $866 million if Roku accepts a superior offer or if the board changes its recommendation to shareholders.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The framework’s first paragraph declares “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
If the deal falls through due to antitrust issues, SpaceX is on the hook for a $4 billion termination fee, according to a regulatory filing.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
Announcing the breakthrough on Sunday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose nation had been mediating, said it included "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
The sealed window soothed her with its sturdy termination, its unassailable finality.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
