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

Police had previous knowledge of the Swiss suspect and his profile in a medical context rather than a criminal one, according to Raphaël Bourquin, the regional attorney general. —Arkansas Online, 12 Mar. 2026

That's the broader context service members should understand. —Louisa Moller, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026

There is still some of that here, but a lot of Martin’s light-touch meanness is drowned out by his insistence on describing his characters within the context of early COVID — pulling out those masks from the closet. —Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026

Some people even opt to wear grave clothes, which in many religious contexts refer to linen cloths wrapped around the deceased and symbolize life after death. —Julia Ries Wexler, Outside, 12 Mar. 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