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

The heir to a newspaper conglomerate — an ideal fit for Rory’s journalistic aspirations — served as the perfect conduit to show Rory (and, by proxy, Lorelai) what their lives could be in the context of the Gilmore social circle. —Justin Kirkland, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Nov. 2025

Historical context of deadly urban fires This is the worst fire Hong Kong has seen since 1962, when 44 people died in a building in Sham Shui Po. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 27 Nov. 2025

And in that context, the line lands less as a defense of the past than as a quiet expression of love for them. —Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025

Yet this is the 16th century, and the viewer knows that his trade is being William Shakespeare; the context of his legacy is hard to ignore, even though the movie doesn’t lean into it. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2025

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
• out of context

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