{
    "term": "define",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "academic": true,
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "define",
            "heSheIt": "defines"
        },
        "pastSimple": "defined",
        "pastParticiple": "defined",
        "ingForm": "defining"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to say or explain what the meaning of a word or phrase is",
            "sensetop": "define somethingdefine something as something",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The term ‘normal’ is difficult to define.",
                    "contextForm": "define something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Life imprisonment is defined as 60 years under state law.",
                    "contextForm": "define something as something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Thread count is defined as the number of threads in one square inch of fabric."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Marriage is defined broadly enough in everyday English to cover same-sex marriages as well as the different-sex kind."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A ghost story may be broadly defined as a story concerned with the power of the dead to return and confront the living."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["accurately", "carefully", "correctly"],
                "verb + define": ["be difficult to", "be impossible to", "be easy to"],
                "preposition": ["as", "by", "in terms of"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to describe or show the nature or range of somebody/something",
            "sensetop": "define somethingdefine what, how, etc…define yourself (as something)",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The goals of the project are **clearly defined**.",
                    "contextForm": "define something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "At that time women's roles were quite **narrowly defined**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to be **broadly/loosely defined**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The difficulty of a problem was **defined in terms of** how long it took to complete."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It is difficult to define what makes him so popular.",
                    "contextForm": "define what, how, etc…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He defines himself as an independent.",
                    "contextForm": "define yourself (as something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We have never defined ourselves in our own right."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Social values are not easy to define."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The characters and story are well defined."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The northern boundary of the US was defined through negotiation with Great Britain."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We have chosen to define the scope of our study quite broadly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There may be problems if responsibilities are not adequately defined."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This type of lymphoma is defined by the presence of specific malignant cells."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the culturally defined role of women"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The horizontal and vertical angles of view define the limits of what is seen in the painting."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The Institute defines itself as the agency supporting basic biomedical research."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["accurately", "carefully", "correctly"],
                "verb + define": ["be difficult to", "be impossible to", "be easy to"],
                "preposition": ["as", "by", "in terms of"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to make or establish the essential character or somebody/something",
            "sensetop": "define somebody/somethingdefine yourself",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "For some, the football club defines their identity.",
                    "contextForm": "define somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "to define the nature/character of somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The novel told the story of a preacher-poet, who defines himself through his art.",
                    "contextForm": "define yourself"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to show clearly a line, shape or edge",
            "sensetop": "define something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The mountain was **sharply defined** against the sky."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪn/",
                "audio": "de/define/define__gb_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnz/",
                "audio": "de/define/defines__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnd/",
                "audio": "de/define/defined__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnɪŋ/",
                "audio": "de/define/defining__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪn/",
                "audio": "de/define/define__us_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnz/",
                "audio": "de/define/defines__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnd/",
                "audio": "de/define/defined__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnɪŋ/",
                "audio": "de/define/defining__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English (also in the sense ‘bring to an end)’: from Old French definer, from a variant of Latin definire, from de- (expressing completion) + finire ‘finish’ (from finis ‘end’)."
}