glossary

noun

glos·​sa·​ry ˈglä-sə-rē 

ˈglȯ-

plural glossaries

: a collection of textual glosses or of specialized terms with their meanings

glossarial

glä-ˈser-ē-əl 

glȯ-

adjective

Examples of glossary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cerebras’ prospectus mentioned tokens 23 times, and there are 62 references in SpaceX’s filing, including in the glossary. —Jordan Novet, CNBC, 10 June 2026

Chromebooks are also useful in supporting students beyond the school day, such as providing digital access to textbooks with interactive search tools, clickable glossaries and hyperlinked multimedia explanations of concepts. —Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026

Conservatives had criticized the ADL for including Kirk's organization in a glossary on extremism. —Josh Meyer, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026

See The Athletic’s fantasy baseball glossary. —Derek Vanriper, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English glosarie, borrowed from Medieval Latin glōsārium, glōssārium, from glōsa, glōssa gloss entry 3 + Latin -ārium -ary entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

glossary

noun

glos·​sa·​ry ˈgläs-(ə-)rē 

ˈglȯs-

plural glossaries

1

: a list of the hard or unusual words found in a book

2

: a dictionary of the special terms in a particular field