term

term¹ W1S1 [tə:m US tə:rm] n

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1 in terms of something

2 in general/practical/financial etc terms

3¦(word)¦

4¦(period of time)¦

5¦(school/university)¦

6¦(end)¦

7 come to terms with something

8¦(conditions)¦

9¦(relationship)¦

10 terms of reference

11¦(number/sign)¦

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: terme 'edge, limit, end', from Latin terminus]

1.) in terms of sth

if you explain or describe something in terms of a particular fact or event, you are explaining or describing it only in relation to that fact or event

describe/measure/evaluate etc sth in terms of sth

▪ Femininity is still defined in terms of beauty.

▪ It's a mistake to think of Florida only in terms of its tourist attractions.

▪ It's too early to start talking in terms of casualties.

in terms of what/how/who etc

▪ Did the experiment find any differences in terms of what children learned?

2.) in general/practical/financial etc terms

used to show that you are describing or considering a subject in a particular way or from a particular point of view

in general/broad/simple etc terms

▪ We explain in simple terms what the treatment involves.

▪ It would be wrong to describe society purely in economic terms .

▪ The war, although successful in military terms , left the economy in ruins.

▪ What do these statistics mean in human terms ?

in sb's terms

▪ In our terms, the scheme has not been a success.

in real/absolute terms

(=accurate, true, or including any related changes)

▪ Rail fares have fallen 17 per cent in real terms.

in relative terms

(=compared with other, similar things)

▪ Students have less money in relative terms, but spend more on books.

3.) ¦(WORD)¦

a word or expression with a particular meaning, especially one that is used for a specific subject or type of language

term for

▪ 'Multimedia' is the term for any technique combining sounds and images.

legal/medical/technical term

▪ Many legal terms have more than one meaning.

▪ photographs, or to use the technical term , 'half-tones'

▪ It was he who coined (=invented) the term 'anorexia'.

term of abuse/endearment/respect etc

(=rude, loving, respectful etc language)

▪ The word 'communist' had become a term of abuse.

in strong/glowing/forthright etc terms

(=showing a strong etc emotion or attitude)

▪ I complained to the manager in the strongest possible terms .

▪ His reply was couched in sinister terms .

in no uncertain terms

(=language that is very clear and angry)

▪ Journalists were told, in no uncertain terms , that they were not welcome.

→a contradiction in terms at ↑contradiction

4.) ¦(PERIOD OF TIME)¦

a fixed period of time during which someone does something or something happens

term in office

(=the time someone spends doing an important job in government)

▪ It was always clear that Schmidt's third term in office would prove a difficult one.

term of

▪ the maximum term of imprisonment

▪ The lease runs for a term of 99 years.

prison/jail term

▪ The men each received a 30-year prison term.

fixed/long/short term

▪ a fixed-term contract

▪ In the long term , alcohol causes high blood pressure.

▪ Dad loaned us his car for the short term.

5.) ¦(SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY)¦ [U and C]

BrE one of the three periods of time that the school or university year is divided into

→↑half-term

summer/autumn/spring term

▪ The exams are at the end of the summer term.

▪ Teachers often feel overworked in term time (=during the term) .

first/last day of term

▪ that all-important first day of term

6.) ¦(END)¦ [singular, U]

technical the end of a particular period of time

→↑long-term, short-term ↑short-term

▪ The agreement reaches its term next year.

▪ a child born two months before full term (=of pregnancy)

▪ The arrangement had outlived its natural term (=the length of time it was expected to exist) .

7.) come to terms with sth

to accept an unpleasant or sad situation and no longer feel upset or angry about it

▪ George and Elizabeth have come to terms with the fact that they will never have children.

▪ Counselling helped her come to terms with her grief.

8.) ¦(CONDITIONS)¦

terms [plural]

a) the conditions that are set for an agreement, contract, arrangement etc

▪ Under the terms of the agreement, the debt would be repaid over 20 years.

▪ your terms and conditions of employment

▪ Delivery is within the terms of this contract.

equal/unequal/the same etc terms

(=conditions that are equal, unequal etc)

▪ Small businesses have to compete on equal terms with large organisations.

▪ Men and women should be able to work on level terms .

on sb's (own) terms

(=according to the conditions that someone wants)

▪ He wanted our relationship to be only on his terms.

b) the arrangements for payment that you agree to when you buy or sell something

reasonable/favourable/cheaper etc terms

▪ Some insurance companies offer very reasonable terms.

▪ This allowed tenant farmers to buy land on easy terms (=by paying small sums of money over a long period) .

9.) ¦(RELATIONSHIP)¦

terms [plural]

if you are on good, bad etc terms with someone, you have a good, bad etc relationship with them

be on good/bad/friendly etc terms (with sb)

▪ By now, Usha and I were on familiar terms .

▪ He is barely on speaking terms with his father (=they are angry and almost never speak to each other) .

▪ We were soon on first-name terms (=using each other's first names, as a sign of friendship) .

10.) terms of reference

formal the subjects that a person or group of people agree to consider

▪ the committee's terms of reference

11.) ¦(NUMBER/SIGN)¦ technical

one of the numbers or signs used in a mathematical calculation

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HINT sense 5

At a British school or university, the year is divided into three terms . At an American univeristy, there are two semesters or three trimesters .

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term ²

term² v [T usually passive]

to use a particular word or expression to name or describe something

▪ This condition is sometimes termed RSI, or repetitive strain injury.

▪ Roosevelt termed himself and his policies 'liberal'.

▪ These developments are loosely termed 'advanced manufacturing techniques'.