syllabus

noun

syl·​la·​bus ˈsi-lə-bəs 

plural syllabi ˈsi-lə-ˌbī 

-ˌbē

or syllabuses

1

: a summary outline of a discourse, treatise, or course of study or of examination requirements

2

: headnote sense 2

Examples of syllabus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In contexts not concerning the elite private colleges of New England and their decades-old conflicts and syllabi and on-campus squabbles, this mode of prestige media procedure matters absolutely and enormously, at scales difficult to tabulate. —Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025

In the 1940s, at the Viking Press, Cowley initiated the resurrection of William Faulkner from oblivion, a project that put the writer on the syllabus in the ever-expanding postwar university, brought the rest of his work back into print, and surely helped win him the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. —Michael Gorra, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025

This is the first class in every MBA school syllabus. —Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025

Yet when asked to create a syllabus for viewers of movies that inspired the fifth and final season, the Duffers rattled off an impressive list of films spanning the ’80s and beyond. —Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, alteration of Latin sillybus label for a book, from Greek sillybos

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

syllabus

noun

syl·​la·​bus ˈsil-ə-bəs 

plural syllabi -ˌbī 

-ˌbē

or syllabuses

: a brief outline (as of a course of study)