Thesaurus results for DEFINES

defines

verb

present tense third-person singular of define

as in traces

to draw or make apparent the outline of the glass skyscraper's sleek silhouette was strikingly defined by the setting sun to its west

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Relevance

as in describes

to mark the limits of the river defines the town on the south

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as in characterizes

to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group a woman who is defined by her unswerving loyalty to her friends

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as in specifies

to give the rules about (something) clearly and exactly let me define the task so that there is no doubt in your minds about what needs to be done

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of defines The kind that defines his game. —

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026 Among them have been intrepid, talented chefs, undeterred by the cold, who have slowly but surely created a remarkably diverse food scene, using the agricultural bounty that defines the region. —

David Farley, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Mar. 2026 For investors, the 200-day at $43 is the line that defines whether this is still a trend repair or something else. —

Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026 And Hammond is roughly the same distance from downtown Chicago as Arlington Heights; whichever direction the team moves, leaving windswept Soldier Field for the artificial environment of a dome means abandoning some of the proud misery that defines Bears football. —

Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026 The ability to stay disciplined in spare shooting and capitalize on scoring opportunities typically defines the players who advance deep into championship contention. —

Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026 The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning roughly two-thirds to twice the national median household income. —

Bailey Allen, Cape Cod Times, 28 Mar. 2026 This streamlined movement defines a decade, and has a major impact on Schiaparelli’s aesthetic. —

Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2026 For more on how the IRS defines Roth IRAs, visit the IRS Roth IRA overview page. —

Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defines

Verb

Built in 1919 by two French architects, it’s stuffed full of artefacts relating to the Cham, a seafaring Vietnamese ethnic group which traces its roots back to the fourth century.

— Tamara Hinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026
But the exchange, which traces its roots back to 1698, was already a smaller contributor to the group’s revenues than its name suggests, and Schwimmer set out to turn LSEG into a leading global provider of high-value financial information.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 27 Mar. 2026