definitionstatement

A definition statement is a sentence or clause that states the meaning of a term, concept, or symbol within a text, discourse, or formal specification. Its purpose is to fix how the term will be understood, often by specifying its scope, characteristics, or relationships to other terms. Definition statements help prevent ambiguity and guide interpretation. They differ from descriptive statements about phenomena, which report observations rather than assign meaning.

In dictionaries and glossaries, a definition statement provides a concise meaning, sometimes with examples, usage notes, or scope notes. In logic and knowledge representation, definitions define a term in terms of other terms or primitives, and they can be explicit or recursive. Definitions should aim to be non-circular and, ideally, conservative, introducing no new facts about the domain beyond the term itself.

In programming and data modeling, a definition statement can declare a type, constant, or alias, giving the name a precise meaning within a program or schema. Such statements establish interfaces and improve clarity, but must remain consistent with the rest of the system.

Best practices include making the definiendum clear and the definiens precise, avoiding circularity, and marking the intended domain or scope. Definitions may be situational or conventional, and definitions that are too broad or too narrow can lead to ambiguity. The term definition statement emphasizes the act of assigning meaning within a structured context.