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terminal

noun · adjective · verb

Showing terminal , the base form of “terminally”.

Simple meaning

A rail station where service begins and ends.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

termihnuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɚmɪnəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A building in an airport where passengers transfer from ground transportation to the facilities that allow them to board airplanes.

  2. A harbour facility where ferries embark and disembark passengers and load and unload vehicles.

  3. A rail station where service begins and ends; the end of the line. For example: Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

  4. A rate charged on all freight, regardless of distance, and supposed to cover the expenses of station service, as distinct from mileage rate, generally proportionate to the distance and intended to cover movement expenses.

  5. A storage tank for bulk liquids (such as oil or chemicals) prior to further distribution.

  6. A town lying at the end of a railroad, in which the terminal is located; more properly called a terminus.

adjective

  1. Occurring at the end of a word, sentence, or period of time, and serves to terminate it

  2. Appearing at the end; top or apex of a physical object.

  3. Fatal; resulting in death.

verb

  1. To store bulk liquids (such as oil or chemicals) in storage tanks prior to further distribution.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods

Used this way, terminal is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Rail / rate

terminal velocityterminal voltageterminal equipmentterminal services

Building / harbour

bus terminal

Device

positive terminal

Other combinations

terminal illnesscomputer terminal

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • terminologynounScientific field

    A system of words used to name things in a particular discipline.

  • terminationnounDerived noun

    A coming to an end of a contract period.

  • terminallyadverbDerived adverb

    At the end.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • terminal emulationnounCompound term

    Having a computer act exactly like a terminal.

  • terminal figurenounCompound term

    A statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar.

  • terminal leavenounCompound term

    Final leave before discharge from military service.

  • terminal pointnounCompound term

    Final or latest limiting point.

  • terminal velocitynounCompound term

    The constant maximum velocity reached by a body falling through the atmosphere under the attraction of gravity.

  • bus terminalnounCompound term

    A terminal that serves bus passengers.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • cordyline terminalisnounRelated term

    Shrub with terminal tufts of elongated leaves used locally for thatching and clothing.

  • pachysandra terminalisnounRelated term

    Slow-growing Japanese evergreen subshrub having terminal spikes of white flowers.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers

depot

adjective

Sense: occurring at the end of a word or sentence

final

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.