termination

Termination refers to the act of ending or bringing something to a close. It can describe the cessation of an ongoing process, the end of an agreement or service, or the conclusion of a state or condition. In legal, technical, and everyday language, termination implies a formal or definitive end rather than a mere interruption.

In contract law, termination ends a contract, either by mutual agreement, by expiration, or for cause such as breach. Contracts commonly specify notice periods, conditions for termination, and remedies. In employment, termination of employment ends the working relationship and can be voluntary (resignation) or involuntary (dismissal or redundancy). Legal protections address issues such as unlawful termination, notice, severance pay, and unemployment benefits, with procedures varying by jurisdiction and contract.

In computing and information systems, termination denotes ending a program or process. An exit or termination signal closes a process, and an exit status indicates success or failure. Graceful termination seeks to release resources properly; forced termination can risk incomplete cleanup or inconsistent states. Algorithms and protocols may terminate when a defined halting condition is met, while non-terminating processes run indefinitely.

In theory and practice, termination is a key concept in mathematics and computer science, where it describes the property that a procedure or algorithm halts after a finite number of steps. Termination also appears in business and technology contexts to describe the decommissioning, retirement, or discontinuation of services, systems, or policies.