ontology

1 of 2

noun (1)

on·​tol·​o·​gy än-ˈtä-lə-jē How to pronounce ontology (audio)
1
: a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being
Ontology deals with abstract entities.
2
: a particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of things that have existence
ontologist noun

ontologist

2 of 2

noun (2)

on·​tol·​o·​gist -jə̇st How to pronounce ontologist (audio)
plural -s
1
: a specialist in ontology
2
: an advocate or adherent of ontologism
ontologistic
(¦)än‧¦tälə¦jistik
adjective

Examples of ontology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
This may include knowledge graphs, domain ontologies, vector stores, memory systems or other structures agents can reason over. Deepak Khosla, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 Hegel was often frustrated by those unable to grasp his wide range of ruminations, from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology to political philosophy to the philosophy of art and religion. Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026 Gordian was engineered for nuclear-grade technical work and is equipped with physics and engineering tools, as well as the ability to understand and integrate data through semantic ontology mapping, to ensure that the final output is computed and verified, not inferred, according to the DOE. Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Mar. 2026 When gene ontology analysis was performed on the regions of the village dog genome that were enriched for wolf ancestral elements, the only significant functional category was the olfactory transduction pathway. Ritsuko Kawai, Wired News, 25 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ontology

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

New Latin ontologia, from ont- + -logia -logy

Noun (2)

ontology + -ist

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ontology was in 1663

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Cite this Entry

“Ontology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ontology. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.

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