How to Use define in a Sentence

define

verb
Definition of definenext
Synonyms for definenext
  • That fence defines the far edge of the property.
  • She believes that success should be defined in terms of health and happiness.
  • The government study seeks to define urban poverty.
  • Her book aims to define acceptable social behavior.
  • The rest of my hair looked shiny, defined, and healthy.
    — Jihan Forbes, Allure, 3 Sep. 2019
  • For me, that was a big, defining question to bring to the group.
    — Nicole Kagan, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2023
  • Goody was at the frontier of this new genre and helped to define it.
    — V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Where are you supposed to find the time to define these three pieces?
    — Bill Keen, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
  • At the heart of the debate has always been how to define open space.
    — Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Mar. 2021
  • Patrizia to life in the three decades that span the film and define her story.
    — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 1 Dec. 2021
  • The need to fight corruption is clear, but so is the need to define it.
    — Elliott Abrams, National Review, 5 Oct. 2021
  • Johnson has one of the jobs that might, with luck, come to define our era.
    — Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 6 Aug. 2020
  • This was the first year the survey asked the questions, which didn’t define those terms.
    — Nancy A. Youssef, WSJ, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Her mother used to tell her that the event wouldn’t define them.
    — Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2021
  • John Lennon once said that your voice defines rock and roll.
    — Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023
  • And it’s used by philosophers a lot to define a good life.
    — Shayla Love, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2023
  • Cheyenne Woods has always had to define her place in the pro golf world.
    — Editors, USA TODAY, 12 July 2020
  • The poll doesn't define what a civil war would look like.
    — Ledyard King, USA TODAY, 7 Oct. 2020
  • For better or worse, this fight would come to define him in the last years of his life.
    — Keith Bierygolick, The Enquirer, 27 June 2020
  • The lines are just like foul lines on a baseball field, defining the field of play.
    — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News, 7 June 2019
  • Some of the many factors that help define prices at the pump are more mundane.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2022
  • What was still to define was the structure of the leadership.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Sep. 2023
  • And lastly, define what getting back on track means for you in the short term and the longer term.
    — Jasmine Browley, Essence, 24 Jan. 2024
  • To define and explain terms: Very rare does not mean blue and a bit chilly.
    — Mimi Sheraton, Bon Appetit, 21 Aug. 2017
  • All told, this class could be the one that defines the coach’s legacy at Texas.
    — Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 20 Dec. 2017
  • The act of defining truth becomes something the reader has to find out.
    — Zan Romanoff, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2020
  • That quote might define every side of the fight that happened in Roanoke.
    — Will Carless, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2022
  • Here’s a look at five of the on-court questions that will define this series.
    — Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 June 2021
  • Billie Eilish’s music straddles the line between pop and rock, and much of her output is hard to define.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
  • Like the vanilla girl summer, caramel girl fall, and the cinnamon girl aesthetic that came before it, slow girl autumn offers distinct characteristics that define the style.
    — Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'define.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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