terminal

SayTUR-mi-nuhlUS/ˈtɚmɪnəl/UK/ˈtɜːmɪnəl/

18 meanings of terminal

1
nouncountable
The part of an airport where travelers wait, check in, and board their planes.
Like a big indoor waiting area you pass through before getting on a plane.
We waited at the terminal for our flight to start boarding.
The new terminal has dozens of gates, shops, and places to eat.
2
nouncountable
A machine with a keyboard and screen used to put information into a computer or see what it sends back.
Like a window into a computer: you type on one side and read the answers on the other.
She typed the command into the terminal and waited for a reply.
Old offices had a terminal on every desk, all wired to one big computer.
Similarconsole, workstation
Note
3
adjective
Likely to cause death, with no chance of getting better.
The doctor gently told them that the cancer was terminal.
He spent his last months in a home for terminal patients.
Similarfatal, incurable, deadly
Oppositecurable, treatable
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4
nouncountable
A train station at the end of a line, where trains start and finish their trips.
Like the last stop on a bus route, where the bus turns around and starts again.
The train sat empty at the terminal before its next trip.
We boarded at the downtown terminal and rode all the way to the last stop.
Similarterminus
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5
nouncountable
A point on a wire or cable where electricity or signals enter or leave, with a part for connecting.
Like a socket where a wire joins on to send power or a signal through.
Connect the red wire to the positive terminal.
Each terminal on the strip holds one wire firmly in place.
Similarconnector, contact
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6
nouncountable
A place at a harbor where ferries pick up and drop off people, cars, and trucks.
Like a bus stop for boats, where cars and people get on and off.
We drove onto the ferry at the terminal early in the morning.
The ferry terminal was crowded with cars waiting to board.
7
nouncountable
One of the two metal contacts on a battery where wires connect.
Like the two little metal ends of a battery where the wires hook on.
Attach the clip to the positive terminal of the battery.
Rust on the battery terminal stopped the car from starting.
Similarpost, pole
8
nouncountable
A program that acts like an old computer terminal, letting you type commands and read text.
Like a pretend version of an old computer screen that runs inside your computer.
Open a terminal and type the command to start the program.
She runs the script from a terminal on her laptop.
Similarconsole, shell
Note
9
adjective
Found at the end, tip, or top of something.
Like the topmost leaf on a plant, right at the very tip.
A single bud sits at the terminal end of each branch.
The terminal joint of the finger is the smallest one.
Similarapical
Oppositelateral
10
adjective
Coming at the very end of something and bringing it to a close.
Like the last page of a book that finishes the story.
The terminal letter in the word stays silent when you say it.
A long pause falls at the terminal point of every line in the poem.
Similarfinal, closing, last, concluding
Oppositeinitial, opening

11
nouncountable
A device, like a telephone or computer, that sends or receives signals over a line.
Like a phone that lets you both talk and listen on the same line.
Each desk in the office has a terminal connected to the company network.
She typed her password into the terminal before logging in.
Note
12
nouncountable
A large tank where oil, chemicals, or other liquids are kept before being sent on.
Like a big water tower that holds water before it flows to homes.
The oil terminal near the port can hold millions of gallons.
Trucks fill up at the chemical terminal before driving to the factory.
Similardepot
13
nouncountable
The end part of a nerve fiber, or one of the tips of a protein chain.
Like the very tip of a tree branch where the leaves grow.
The nerve signal reaches the terminal and passes to the next cell.
Each terminal of the protein has a different chemical end.
Similarterminus, ending
Note
14
nouncountable
A basic letter or sign in a grammar's rules that cannot be broken down further.
Like the smallest building block of a sentence that cannot be split up.
In this grammar, every digit counts as a terminal.
The parser stops once it reaches a terminal it cannot expand.
Oppositenonterminal
Note
15
nouncountable
A flat fee charged on goods no matter how far they travel, covering the cost of station handling.
Like a flat fee you pay at the post office no matter where a package goes.
The company charged the same terminal on every shipment, whether it went five miles or fifty.
Shippers complained that the terminal made short hauls too expensive.
16
nouncountable
A town at the end of a railroad line, where the last station sits.
Like the last stop on a bus route that slowly grows into its own little town.
The railroad ended at a dusty terminal where the first settlers built their homes.
Travelers spent the night in the terminal because the line went no farther.
Similarterminus
Note
17
verbtransitive
To keep oil, chemicals, or other liquids in tanks before sending them on.
Like keeping water in a big tank before pumping it out to where it is needed.
Workers terminal the crude oil here before it travels to the refinery.
The company will terminal the chemicals near the port.
Similarstore
Note
18
adjectivearchaic
Happening once each term, like every school or court term.
Like a bill that comes around again at the end of every season.
The college held its terminal exams at the close of each term.
Tenants paid a terminal rent at the end of every term.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Latin "terminus," meaning a boundary, limit, or end.