Terminate Meaning
/ˈtɜːmɪneɪ̯t/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo end something, especially when left in an incomplete state.
verbTo conclude.
Sentence Examples
Are you going to terminate my contract?
Skura decided to terminate her pregnancy.
Lorenzo and Melissa had to terminate their relationship.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Because the employee broke the rules, the manager had to ____ his employment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to ____ the contract because the other party had failed to meet several important deadlines today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English terminaten (“to bring to an end; to adjudicate; to end, stop; to border, confine, contain”) from terminat(e) (“bounded”, also used as the past participle of terminaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin terminātus, perfect passive participle of terminō (“to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from terminus (“a bound, limit, end”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); see term, terminus. Doublet of termine, cognate with French terminer.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"During this interval of calm and prosperity, he terminated two figures of slaves, destined for the tomb, in an incomparable style of art."
— 1857, John Scandrett Harford, The Life of Michael Angelo Buonarroti:
"She unlocked the casket which contained her mother's picture, and gazed even more earnestly than usual on that beautiful face; its frank, glad smile was too painful; it seemed an omen of all that could make a joyous and beloved existence; and yet how had her's terminated!"
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 102:
"It is a branch that climbs for 11½ miles into the picturesque Wealden hills until, apparently exhausted by the effort, it terminates a mile short of the village of Hawkhurst."
— 1960 March, H. P. White, “The Hawkhurst branch of the Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 170:
"After dropping off travellers at Foregate Street, my train terminates at Shrub Hill - a station which boasts one of the best selection [sic] of semaphore signals left in the country."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 67:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Because the employee broke the rules, the manager had to ____ his employment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to ____ the contract because the other party had failed to meet several important deadlines today.