define

To say exactly what a word, phrase, or sign means.

• Can you define this word?
• She defined each unfamiliar term for the class.
• The book defines courage as acting despite fear.

How to use it: define something as something (The teacher defined a mammal as an animal that feeds its young with milk.)

Similar words: explain

Common phrases: define a word, define a term, define as something

To describe something clearly and exactly so others understand what you mean.

• First, define your goals.
• The team defined the problem more clearly.
• How would you define a good life?

How to use it: define what/how… (We need to define what success means for this project.)

Similar words: specify, describe, clarify

Common phrases: define your goals, define the problem, define someone's role

To establish or show the exact shape, limits, or position of something.

• The fence defines our garden's boundary.
• Dark lines defined the edges of the drawing.
• This lens defines fine details clearly.

Similar words: mark out, delineate

Opposites: blur

Common phrases: define the boundaries, define the shape, define the limits