context

noun

con·​text ˈkän-ˌtekst 

1

: the parts of a discourse that surround a word, phrase, or passage and that help to explain its meaning

When you use other words in a sentence to help you learn the meaning of a certain word, you are using context clues.

—H. Thompson Fillmer et al.

To really know a word, you must be able to use it in context.

When taken out of context, his comments sound cruel, but he was only joking.

2

: the situation in which something happens : environment, setting

the historical context of the war

… even your suffering … can be seen in the context of what the whole world is going through.

—Alice Walker

contextless

ˈkän-ˌtekst-ləs 

adjective

contextual

kän-ˈteks-chə-wəl 

kən-, 

-chəl, 

-chü-əl

adjective

contextually adverb

Did you know?

Context, in Context

In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant "the weaving together of words in language." This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered.

Synonyms of context

• environment
• surroundings
• atmosphere
• surround
• environs
• climate

Examples of context in a Sentence

… it was Dickens who first used the word 'detective' in a literary context … —John Mullan, How Novels Work, 2006

Entrepreneurship and civil freedoms depend on a context of civil order, predictability, and individual security. —Susan L. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, 1995

… the old building, its original acre, inside its high outer wall, was immune to change, out of context and out of time. —Harriet Doerr, The Tiger in the Grass, 1995

We need to look at the event within the larger context of world history.

The book puts these events in their proper historical and social contexts.

We need to consider these events in context.

Recent Examples on the Web

Improving global trade and geopolitical influence The idea for a new canal to move oil from the Middle East had emerged two decades earlier, in the context of another Middle East conflict, the Suez crisis. —Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026

For context, oil is traded as a futures contract, which means an agreement to buy or sell at a specified price on a future date. —Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026

To put it in relatable context, the Orion crew capsule the Artemis II crew is riding on a 10-day trip around the moon is, as of the morning of April 2, way, way higher than the International Space Station. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026

In the end, Bondi was rewarded for her willingness to violate her professional responsibilities and oath of office with being unceremoniously shown the door, a predictable outcome in the context of a president for whom loyalty only ever runs one way. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English contexte "text, composition," borrowed from Medieval Latin contextus "sequence, connection, setting," going back to Latin, "action of weaving, connection, coherence, ordered scheme, structure," from contexere "to weave together, connect (words), compose, combine" (from con- con- + texere "to weave, construct") + -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at technical entry 1

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing context

• context-free

Kids Definition

context

noun

con·​text ˈkän-ˌtekst 

1

: the parts of something written or spoken that are near a certain word or group of words and that help to explain its meaning

2

: the circumstances in which something exists or occurs

contextual

kän-ˈteks-chə(-wə)l 

kən-

adjective

contextually

-ē

adverb