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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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 As Salim, Bakri avoids the kind of short-temperedness that incorrectly defines Arab men in the public imagination. —

Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026 In all of 2025, roughly 297,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped nationwide, according to ATTOM, a real estate data provider, which defines a flip as a home purchased and sold in the same 12-month period. —

Diana Olick, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2026 The dictionary defines an excursion as a brief, pleasurable trip. —

Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026 Immigration law defines a child as anyone who is under 21 years old and unmarried. —

Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026 The school asked that Valladares be prosecuted for grand theft, which state law defines as more than $950. —

Cameron MacDonald, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026 Mendez defines this type of theft as the misuse of one’s Social Security number or other personal information, often to collect a tax refund. —

Cora Lewis, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026 For more on how the IRS defines Roth IRAs, visit the IRS Roth IRA overview page. —

Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 18 Mar. 2026 For more on how the IRS defines Roth IRAs, visit the IRS Roth IRA overview page. —

Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 17 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