episode

American  

[ep-uh-sohd, -zohd] / ˈɛp əˌsoʊd, -ˌzoʊd /

noun

episodes plural

1. an incident in the course of a series of events, in a person's life or experience, etc.

   Synonyms:

   happening

2. an incident, scene, etc., within a narrative, usually fully developed and either integrated within the main story or digressing from it.

3. one of a number of loosely connected, but usually thematically related, scenes or stories constituting a literary work.

4. epeisodion.

5. Music. an intermediate or digressive passage, especially in a contrapuntal composition.

6. Movies, Radio, and Television. any one of the separate productions that constitute a serial.

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episode British  

/ ˈɛpɪˌsəʊd /

noun

1. an incident, event, or series of events

2. any one of the sections into which a serialized novel or radio or television programme is divided

3. an incident, sequence, or scene that forms part of a narrative but may be a digression from the main story

4. (in ancient Greek tragedy) a section between two choric songs

5. music a contrasting section between statements of the subject, as in a fugue or rondo

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Usage

What does episode mean? Episode most generally refers to a specific incident in a continuous series of events, an occurrence of a recurring event, or an installment or entry in a series. Episode is perhaps most popularly used in a more specific way to refer to one of the parts that a TV series is divided into, as in I’ve seen every single episode of The Office. Such episodes are often like chapters of a larger story, though each one may be unrelated other than being part of the same series. This sense of the word can also be applied to other forms of entertainment, especially ones you watch or listen to, such as podcasts, radio shows, or video series. (In contrast, parts in a periodical series, such as a comic book, aren’t commonly called episodes but are instead referred to with other terms, such as issue or edition.)More generally, episode can refer to a particular part of a story or narrative, such as a scene or sequence within a novel. In the context of real life, the word episode can refer to a specific period in a person’s life, especially one that’s distinct, such as due to being a life-changing or defining experience, as in The year that we moved to a new city was one of the particularly memorable episodes of my childhood. This sense of episode means something like a chapter in the story of someone’s life. The word can also refer to an instance of experiencing something that’s recurring, such as a medical or mental health issue, as in The patient has a history of depressive episodes. The adjective episodic can be used to describe things that occur occasionally or things that are divided into episodes. Example: The show’s final episode is scheduled to air on Thursday night.

Synonym Usage

See event.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• episodes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of episode

First recorded in 1670–80; from Greek epeisódion “addition, parenthetic narrative, episode,” noun use of neuter of epeisódios “coming in addition,” equivalent to ep- ep- + eísod(os) “entrance” ( eis- “into” + (h)odós “road, way”) + -ios adjective suffix

Explanation

Think of your favorite TV show. It runs all year long, in weekly installments. Each of those individual programs is an episode, one part of a long series. Episode, a term from Greek tragedy, refers to a section of a story. In the 19th century, Charles Dickens published chapters of his novels in weekly magazines, episodes that together made a novel. You can also use the word for events in your own life: "That was an unpleasant episode," when you're remembering a family fight, or, "Grandpa had a fainting episode." With the fighting and fainting, you can hope they're episodes, not the whole story.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

episode episodes

“This particular episode of technology build-out required mobilization of a scale of capital that the world rarely sees. And with that, you have to bring to bear every tool to drive down the cost.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

To be fair, Homan was not the only administration official diminished by the episode.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

At the hospital, doctors noted that Jeremy had a suspected meat allergy, but ultimately blamed the episode on his asthma, which he'd had since he was a toddler.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

In the Slate Plus episode: Banks are making bank.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

She probably thinks we’re having some secret adventure straight out of a Doctor Who episode.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the episodes as “gangster-like bullying.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

“Daemons of the Shadow Realm” releases new episodes on Saturdays on Crunchyroll.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Advocates have stressed the connection between repeated episodes of wildfire smoke and climate change.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

The trading volume underscores how prediction markets have found their next growth engine in pop culture and reality TV in particular — with its fandoms, daily episodes and constant turnover of contestants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Dad had jumbled my internal clock, thanks to our late-night marathon of Doctor Who—my favorite episodes with the brilliant and brave Martha Jones.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• chapter
• event
• experience
• incident
• installment
• matter
• thing