definite

UK/ˈdɛfɪnɪt/US/ˈdɛfɪnɪt/

adjectiveB1Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,276 of 15,258neutral

Definite means settled and not open to doubt. A definite answer, definite plans, definitely coming.

Watch the spelling: definite has no a, and definately is among the commonest misspellings in English — the trick is that it comes from finite. In grammar, the definite article is the, which points to a particular thing where a does not.

Definitions of definite

1adjectivedefiniteSettled and not open to doubt.B1
“We haven't set a definite date for the wedding yet.”

definite is a quality of certainty.

Where it comes from

Latin definitus is the past participle of definire, to set a limit, from finis, a boundary. Finite is the same root.

Latin
dēfīnītus
English, today
definite

From Latin dēfīnītus, past participle of dēfīniō, whence also English define.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

definite in the wild

The definite description is proper if X applies to a unique individual or object.
Definite description
In mathematics, a positive-definite function is, depending on the context, either of two types of function.
Positive-definite function
A definite clause grammar (DCG) is a way of expressing grammar, either for natural or formal languages, in a logic programming language such as Prolog.
Definite clause grammar
The term DCG refers to the specific type of expression in Prolog and other similar languages; not all ways of expressing grammars using definite clauses are considered DCGs.
Definite clause grammar
According to that sign, the quadratic form is called positive-definite or negative-definite.
Definite quadratic form

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

← Vocabulary