defining

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

From the Greek philosopher Archimedes shouting “eureka” in his bathtub to the German psychologist Karl Bühler defining the concept of an “Aha!” moment two centuries later, sudden jolts of realization can hit rather quickly.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

“Neuromancer,” one of the defining cyberpunk novels, was published in 1988; that book imagines an interconnected, virtual reality world you can traverse by “jacking in.”

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026

By defining these perceptual attributes more rigorously, the researchers have supplied a missing piece in Schrödinger's long standing vision for a closed mathematical model of color.

From Science Daily • Jun. 7, 2026

“Compressing the sensor-to-shooter cycle is the defining trend of this war at the tactical level,” said Franz-Stefan Gady, a military analyst and founder of defense advisory firm Gady Consulting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

But if the secret Mexico trip was the defining test of my loyalty, I really earned my stripes when my sister and her best friend turned me into a legitimate stalker.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi