terms of service

plural noun

: the legal terms (see term entry 1 sense 4) that set forth the nature, scope, and limits of a service (such as one offered through a website or an app) and the rules that the service's users must agree to follow
… Twitter users' complaints alerted the company that three of his messages violated the terms of serviceJake Tapper
… most people have no idea what is signed away when they click "agree" to binding terms of service contracts—again and again on phones, laptops, tablets, watches, e-readers and televisions.The New York Times
abbreviation TOS

Examples of terms of service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Drone delivery availability is based on a customer’s delivery address, local weather conditions (although drones can make deliveries in the rain), feasibility (is there a landing place for the package?), and each drone delivery vendor’s terms of service. Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025 OpenAI was informed that its access was cut off due to violating the terms of service. Kylie Robison, Wired News, 1 Aug. 2025 Moonshot reported 95 posts which specifically targeted a player or the head coach to the platforms, as they were classified as abuse and clear violations of the platforms’ terms of service. Cerys Jones, New York Times, 31 July 2025 The amount for a full-time award is the equivalent to the maximum value of the Pell Grant for the fiscal year in which the term of service is approved, according to the AmeriCorps website. Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for terms of service

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of terms of service was in 1994

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Cite this Entry

“Terms of service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terms%20of%20service. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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