termination

American  

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

noun

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

• nontermination
  noun
• terminational
  adjective
• unterminational
  adjective

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

The termination fee was triggered after Paramount Skydance outbid Netflix in an $81 billion deal to acquire Warner.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Primm Valley Resorts, the last full-time casino among a cluster of three off Interstate 15 in Primm, at the California-Nevada border, is permanently closing, according to a termination notice sent to employees on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

The US first approved mifepristone for the medical termination of pregnancy through seven weeks gestation in September 2000.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

In May and October 2025, the justices issued emergency docket orders allowing for the termination of TPS for the more than 600,000 Venezuelans who held it.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026

“Fischer had a gun to our heads,” he later said, explaining the abrupt termination of one of the most important American chess matches ever played.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• completion
• expiry