Word.ws English Dictionary

defined term

defined term noun: a term in a legal document that has been given a specific definition, which overrides the general meaning of the term in the context of that document.

Noun

defined term (plural defined terms)

  1. A term in a legal document that has been given a specific definition, which overrides the general meaning of the term in the context of that document.
    • If I have correctly interpreted the intention underlying this Amendment, I do not think that it is necessary. The only thing it appears to add to the Bill as drafted is to put an outright ban on terms closely resembling a defined term, if they are introduced into common use after the definition...1966 February 24, Lord Rhodes, “Protection of Consumers (Trade Descriptions) Bill”, in parliamentary debates (House of Lords), volume 273 (5th series), column 416
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see defined, term.

Forms of defined term

pluraldefined terms

Origin of defined term

From defined + term.

Questions about defined term

What does defined term mean?
Defined term means a term in a legal document that has been given a specific definition, which overrides the general meaning of the term in the context of that document.
What part of speech is defined term?
Defined term is a noun.
What is the plural of defined term?
The plural of defined term is defined terms.

Words near defined term in the dictionary

  1. defined
  2. defined benefit
  3. defined benefits
  4. defined contribution
  5. defined contributions
  6. defined term
  7. defined terms
  8. definedness
  9. definee
  10. definees
  11. definement

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: defined term (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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