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umbrella term

American  
[uhm-brel-uh turm] / ʌmˈbrɛl ə ˌtɜrm /

noun

  1. a word or phrase used as a unifying term under which a group of specific and related things, words, phrases, subjects, or functions belongs.

    To be clear, “encephalopathy” is an umbrella term for any brain disease, and we’re testing to find out exactly what condition you may have.

    The umbrella term “trans” includes both binary and nonbinary transgender people, as well as those who are genderqueer in other ways.

Etymology

Origin of umbrella term

First recorded in 1965–70

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.