- to bring to an end; put an end to: to terminate a contract.
- to occur at or form the conclusion of: The countess's soliloquy terminates the play.
- to bound or limit spatially; form or be situated at the extremity of.
- to dismiss from a job; fire: to terminate employees during a recession.
- to end, conclude, or cease.
- (of a train, bus, or other public conveyance) to end a scheduled run at a certain place: This train terminates in New York.
- to come to an end (often followed by at, in, or with).
- to issue or result (usually followed by in).
Origin of terminate
Synonyms for terminate
Related Words for terminatingrecess, conclude, sack, restrict, abort, cease, determine, cancel, complete, abolish, eliminate, halt, discontinue, dismiss, expire, adjourn, discharge, annul, dissolve, perfect
Examples from the Web for terminating
Contemporary Examples of terminating
The lawyers work tirelessly to delay the execution after the prison botched its first attempt at terminating their client.‘The Good Wife’ Is Back With a Terrific Fifth Season Premiere
September 30, 2013
Terminating me for telling the truth of a Caucasian officer kicking a mentally ill man is disgusting.Rogue L.A. Cop’s Facebook Manifesto: ‘You Will Now Live the Life of Prey’
The Daily Beast
February 8, 2013
A sanction could be anything from reducing to terminating participation.Feds Bust Student Exchange Program
October 21, 2011
With her in the room is a woman whose 17-year-old daughter is terminating her own pregnancy.Mad Men's 12 Most Memorable Moments
October 18, 2010
Historical Examples of terminating
You cannot always choose your own time and place for terminating these relations.The Railroad Question
Acute: pointed: terminating in or forming less than a right angle.Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
The Anglicism of terminating the sentence with a preposition is rejected.The Verbalist
Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
Extreme limits of the dash to Paris, terminating Sept. 8, 1914.Current History, A Monthly Magazine
New York Times
He took the first opportunity of terminating the conversation and leaving the room.The Hand in the Dark
Arthur J. Rees
- (when intr, often foll by in or with) to form, be, or put an end (to); concludeto terminate a pregnancy; their relationship terminated amicably
- (tr) to connect (suitable circuitry) to the end of an electrical transmission line to absorb the energy and avoid reflections
- (intr) maths (of a decimal expansion) to have only a finite number of digits
- (tr) slang to kill (someone)
Word Origin for terminate
Word Origin and History for terminating
1610s, "to bring to an end," from Latin terminatus, past participle of terminare "to limit, end" (see terminus). Sense of "to come to an end" is recorded from 1640s; meaning "dismiss from a job" is recorded from 1973; that of "to assassinate" is from 1975. Related: Terminated; terminating.