Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):
   • To bring something to an end; to cause something to stop or conclude.
   • To dismiss someone from employment; to end a contract or agreement.
2. Verb (Intransitive):
   • To come to an end; to reach a final point or limit.

Usage

• Transitive Verb (to end something):
  • The company decided to terminate the project due to budget cuts.
  • She terminated their partnership after discovering the breach of trust.
• Transitive Verb (to dismiss from a job):
  • His contract was terminated for violating company policy.
• Intransitive Verb (to come to an end):
  • The road terminates in a small village.
  • The lease agreement terminates on December 31st.

Advanced Usage

• "to terminate in": to have as an end point or final result.
  • The hallway terminates in a large, ornate door.
  • The legal process could terminate in a settlement or a trial.
• "to terminate with": to conclude by having or doing something.
  • The ceremony terminated with a fireworks display.

Variants and Related Words

• Termination (n): the act of ending something or the point at which something ends.
  • The termination of the contract was mutually agreed upon.
• Terminal (adj/n):
  • (Adj.): relating to or situated at an end. The patient was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
  • (N.): an end point or a building for transportation departures/arrivals. We met at the bus terminal.
• Terminus (n): a final point or goal, especially of transportation.

Synonyms

• End: to bring or come to a conclusion.
• Conclude: to bring to a close, often formally.
• Cease: to stop happening or existing.
• Finish: to complete an activity or process.
• Discontinue: to stop doing or providing something.

Antonyms

• Begin: to start.
• Commence: to begin formally.
• Initiate: to cause a process to start.
• Continue: to persist without stopping.

Phrasal Verbs

• Terminate with: (Formal) to end by having a specific feature or event.
  • The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks.

Related Idioms

• To terminate someone's employment: a formal phrase for firing someone.
  • The board voted to terminate the CEO's employment following the scandal.
• To bring to a terminate: (Less common) a formal way to say "to bring to an end."
  • The treaty was designed to bring the conflict to a terminate.

Verb

1. terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
   • The boss fired his secretary today
   • The company terminated 25% of its workers
2. be the end of; be the last or concluding part of
   • This sad scene ended the movie
3. have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
   • the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed
   • Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other
   • My property ends by the bushes
   • The symphony ends in a pianissimo
4. bring to an end or halt
   • She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime
   • The attack on Poland terminated the relatively peaceful period after WW I