determiner

noun de·ter·min·er \ -ˈtər-mə-nər \

Definition of determiner

: one that determines: such as

a : gene

b : a word (such as an article, possessive, demonstrative, or quantifier) that makes specific the denotation of a noun phrase

See determiner defined for English-language learners

See determiner defined for kids

Recent Examples of determiner from the Web

Get sloppy with that round, orange determiner of bracket futures and suffer the consequences.

— bryce miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Costly turnovers create NCAA-bruising hole in Aztecs' loss to Cougars," 16 Mar. 2018
Chicago officials told the newspaper the risk score helped guide offers for help, but was not the sole determiner.

— NOLA.com, "How a tech firm brought data and worry to New Orleans crime fighting," 1 Mar. 2018
Egg donor cycles are the most successful form of ART because age is the largest determiner of pregnancy rates.

— sarah kowalski, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Misleading Promise of IVF for Women Over 40," 21 Feb. 2018
Like so much of what’s called ambition, privilege is often the real determiner.

— jen gann, The Cut, "Breastfeeding Is for Overachievers," 7 Aug. 2017
Whereas Sissoko, 27, is also said to be keen on a move to the Hawthorns, with the prospect of weekly first team football being the obvious determiner for the attacker.

— SI.com, "West Brom Ready to Make a Move for Spurs' Winger Moussa Sissoko in Bid to Save Premier League Career," 21 July 2017
However, it's surfaced that Eddie Howe's outfit are the frontrunners in the race for the 20-year-old's services, with top-flight football at the Vitality Stadium presumably being a tantalising determiner.

— SI.com, "AFC Bournemouth Close in On Blackburn Rovers' 20-Year-Old Winger Connor Mahoney," 19 July 2017
Because all plants get their food from the sun through the process of photosynthesis, the amount of shade is a large determiner on who will survive.

— jefferson county cooperative extension, AL.com, "Life (and death) of our trees (Garden Talk)," 18 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'determiner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of determiner

circa 1530

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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DETERMINER Defined for English Language Learners

determiner

noun

Definition of determiner for English Language Learners

grammar : a word (such as “a,” “the,” “some,” “any,” “my,” or “your”) that comes before a noun and is used to show which thing is being referred to

DETERMINER Defined for Kids

determiner

noun de·ter·min·er \ di-ˈtər-mə-nər \

Definition of determiner for Students

: a word belonging to a group of noun modifiers that can occur before descriptive adjectives modifying the same noun

“The” in “the red house” is a determiner.

Medical Dictionary

determiner

noun de·ter·min·er \ -ˈtərm-(ə-)nər \

medical Definition of determiner

: gene

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determiner

Definition of determiner

Recent Examples of determiner from the Web

First Known Use of determiner

DETERMINER Defined for English Language Learners

determiner

Definition of determiner for English Language Learners

DETERMINER Defined for Kids

determiner

Definition of determiner for Students

Medical Dictionary

determiner

medical Definition of determiner

Seen and Heard

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determiner

Definition of determiner

Recent Examples of determiner from the Web

First Known Use of determiner

DETERMINER Defined for English Language Learners

determiner

Definition of determiner for English Language Learners

DETERMINER Defined for Kids

determiner

Definition of determiner for Students

Medical Dictionary

determiner

medical Definition of determiner

Seen and Heard

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