ontology

noun

on·​tol·​o·​gy än-ˈtä-lə-jē 

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

än-ˈtä-lə-jist 

noun

Examples of ontology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Creating Knowledge Graphs and Semantic Layers Achanta is particularly focused on creating rich ontologies and knowledge graphs that can enable reasoning at scale. —Peter High, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025

The very title of the exhibition, the first Conceptualist project to use photocopy as a medium, signals a deliberate equivocation over nothing less than the ontology of the art object. —Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025

Across the 20th century, a constellation of Black intellectuals and artists approached fashion not merely as ornamentation but as ontology. —Achille Tenkiang, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2025

Clinical concepts are intricately linked by a complex ontology that defines relationships between terms. —Michal Tzuchman Katz Md, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ontology

• anthology
• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology