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Definition of essay

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

• composition

attempt , try , endeavor , essay , strive mean to make an effort to accomplish an end.

attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort.

try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something.

endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty.

essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting.

strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort.

Examples of essay in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'essay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle French essai , ultimately from Late Latin exagium act of weighing, from Latin ex- + agere to drive — more at agent

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing essay

• essay question
• photo - essay

Articles Related to essay

To 'Essay' or 'Assay'?

You'll know the difference if you give it the old college essay

Dictionary Entries Near essay

Cite this entry.

“Essay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay. Accessed 19 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of essay.

Kids Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

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How to Write a Definition Essay

Last Updated: January 27, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 453,025 times.

A definition essay requires you to write your own definition of a word. The definition must be thorough and well supported by research and evidence. You may have to write a definition essay for a class or try it as a writing challenge to help improve your English skills. Start by selecting and defining the word. Then, create a draft that presents a detailed definition using references and sources. Polish the essay when you are done so it flows well and does not contain any grammatical errors.

Selecting the Word

• You can also pick a concept like “Success,” “Friendship,” or “Faith.”
• Concepts like “Pain,” “Loss,” or “Death” are also good options.

• You can try taking a concrete object and using a similar word to make it more open-ended. For example, the word “house” is concrete and obvious. But the word “home” is more open-ended and allows you to create your own definition of the word.

• For example, you may choose a word like “success” because you are familiar with the word and feel you may have a lot to say about what it means to be successful or to feel success in your life.

• For example, you may choose a word like “pain” because you feel there are a variety of meanings for the word based on who you talk to and how they experience “pain” in their lives.

Defining the Word

• For example, if you look up the word “justice” in the dictionary, you may get this definition: “noun, the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.”
• You can then determine that “justice” is a noun and can be compared to other terms like “righteousness” and “moral rightness.”

• For example, you may look up the word “justice” in an online encyclopedia that focuses on philosophy or law. You may then find information on Western theories of justice and how it became an important concept in Western history and the legal system.

• Look on academic search engines like Google Scholar, JSTOR, and ProQuest for scholarly articles.
• You can also look for educational videos that have been made about the word on YouTube and other video websites.

• “What comes to mind when you think of the word?”
• “How do you feel about the word on a personal level?”
• “How do you interact or deal with the word?”
• “What does the word mean to you?”
• Take notes or record the interviews so you can use them as sources in your essay.

• For example, you may write: “Justice, a quality or trait where you act in a morally right way.” Or you may write: “Justice, a concept in the legal system where the fair or equitable thing is done, as in ‘justice has been served.’”
• It's important to have tact and tread carefully here. It's important to preface your own definition of the word, making it clear that's a personal opinion. Make sure not to create the misconception that your own definition is the accepted or official one.
• At the end of the day, your objective should be to write the actual definition, and not an opinion essay.

Creating an Essay Draft

• Your thesis statement should appear in the introduction and conclusion section of your essay.

• For example, you may write, “According to the Oxford Dictionary, justice is a noun, and it means: the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.”

• For example, you may have a thesis statement like, “According to my research and my personal experiences, justice is a quality or trait where you act in a morally correct way.”

• For example, you may write, “Justice comes from the Latin jus , which means right or law. It is a commonly used concept in politics, in the legal system, and in philosophy.”

• For example, you may discuss how justice works as a noun or an idea in politics, the legal system, and in philosophy. You may also discuss what the “quality of being just” means in our society.

• For example, you may talk about how justice is similar and also not quite the same as words like “righteousness” and “equitableness.”
• You can also discuss words that mean the opposite of the term you are defining. For example, you may contrast the word “justice” with the word “injustice” or “inequality.”

• For example, you may write, “On a personal level, I view justice as an essential concept” or “Based on my own experiences, I think justice is blind and often does not serve those who need it the most.”
• You can also include personal experiences of the word based on interviews you conducted with others.

• Make sure you follow your instructor’s preferred citation style, such as MLA , APA , or Chicago Style .

• Look at the first sentence in each section of the paragraph to help you gather your main points.
• Include a last sentence that has a strong image or that describes a key phrase in your essay.

Polishing the Essay

• You should also check for any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors in the essay.

• Be open to constructive criticism from others and take their feedback to heart. It will only make your essay better.

• If there is a word count or a page count for the definition essay, make sure you meet it.
• Include a reference page at the end of the essay and a cover page at the beginning of the essay, if required.

Expert Q&A

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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing essays, check out our in-depth interview with Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. .

• ↑ https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/definition-essay/
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/10-6-definition/
• ↑ https://quillbot.com/courses/introduction-to-college-level-academic-writing/chapter/how-to-write-a-definition-essay/
• ↑ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/definition-essay-examples-and-topic-ideas.html
• ↑ https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-to-Write-a-Definition-Essay-from-Multiple-Sources
• ↑ https://academichelp.net/academic-assignments/essay/write-definition-essay.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/definitions.html
• ↑ https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/definition-essay/definition-essay-techniques/
• ↑ https://quillbot.com/courses/rhetorical-methods-based-essay-writing/chapter/how-to-write-a-definition-essay/
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/using-evidence.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/reading-aloud/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html

About This Article

To write a definition essay, choose a word that describes a concept or idea. Look up the dictionary definition, the origin of the word, and any scholarly essays or articles that discuss the word in detail, then use this information to create your own definition. When you write your paper, introduce the term and the standard dictionary definition of the word, followed by a thesis stating your own definition. Use the body of the paper to include historical information and explain what the word means to you, then conclude by restating your thesis. For tips on picking your word, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Definition of essay noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• I have to write an essay this weekend.
• essay on something an essay on the causes of the First World War
• essay about somebody/something Have you done your essay about Napoleon yet?
• in an essay He made some very good points in his essay.
• Essays handed in late will not be accepted.
• Have you done your essay yet?
• He concludes the essay by calling for a corrective.
• I finished my essay about 10 o'clock last night!
• Lunch was the only time she could finish her essay assignment.
• We have to write an essay on the environment.
• You have to answer 3 out of 8 essay questions in the exam.
• the teenage winner of an essay contest
• We have to write an essay on the causes of the First World War.
• be entitled something
• be titled something
• address something
• in an/​the essay
• essay about

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

• essay (by somebody) a collection of essays by prominent African American writers
• essay on somebody/something The book contains a number of interesting essays on women in society.
• essay about somebody/something Pierce contributes a long essay about John F. Kennedy.
• in an essay I discuss this in a forthcoming essay.
• A version of this essay was presented at the Astronomical Society.
• In 2001 she published a collection of essays.
• The essays explore Einstein's personal development.
• the fifteen essays collected in this volume
• ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’ by Thomas Malthus
• an essay entitled ‘Memory’
• This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the subject.
• His first essay in politics was a complete disaster.

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Using Word Definitions in Formal Essays: Incorporation and Citation

by Robbie Glen

A side note on titles and abbreviations: This abbreviated title rule does not always apply for the body of your paper. The OED may be called the OED in the body because, although it is an abbreviated form, people actually call it this (at least this is my explanation). Generally, abbreviated titles are only acceptable within citations, e.g. a paper on Love's Labour's Lost, while referring to the entire title in the prose, may, after the play has been identified, thereafter cite simply by using LLL followed by the act, scene and line number(s). However, the author would not say, "When the acting company first performed LLL ?"-this is too informal, and while I have seen it done, it is rare and best avoided for our purposes. When we get into writing papers that compare and contrast multiple texts from this course, you'll be able to abbreviate Fight Club as FC and The Talented Mr. Ripley as TTMR in your citations, after the first time you've identified the text by its full name. In general, one word titles are not truncated to a single letter, so we won't be representing Vertigo as V .

I've attached the OED 's entry for sympathy as a noun; as you'll see, there are four main definitions, and #1 and #3 have sub-definitions. The citation I use above shows my reader that I am referring first to the entry for sympathy as a noun, secondly that it is definition number 3, and thirdly that it is sub-definition d. Citing so specifically is crucial, especially since differences between various definitions can often be maddeningly subtle on first examination. If you are using a definition to shape or support your argument, you want to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding on the part of your reader.

Here is the link to the definition of Sympathy as a noun.

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Essay: The Oxford English Dictionary

by Renee Brown

When Beowulf, the greatest and oldest single work of Old English, was composed, there was no dictionary; when Chaucer wrote the legendary Canterbury Tales, there was no dictionary, when the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, produced his graceful poems and plays, there was no dictionary. The first, what would today be called, “dictionary” was compiled in 1604 by a man named Robert Cawdray; A Table Alphabeticall was only 120 pages. One hundred and fifty years later, Dr. Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary . This respectable publication documented 40,000 words and provided 114,000 quotations. The project took him nine years to complete single handedly (McCrum 117-9). It was not until one hundred years later that a project was begun which would far outperform the work of Johnson. The idea for a new dictionary was proposed by the Philological Society of London; at the time it was titled New English Dictionary , but it would become known to the world as the Oxford English Dictionary .

The OED is the “accepted authority on the evolution of English language over the last millennium” ( Oxford ). The purpose of a dictionary is to encompass a language “in its entirety,” the easy words as well as the hard ones, the common words as well as the obscure ones (Winchester 86). English is a world language, spreading all over the globe, which means that the language is constantly expanding, so all words, written, spoken, and read, should be documented (Winchester 87). The unique aspect of this reference is that it not only gives definitions for terms, like a dictionary is commonly understood to do, but the OED gives the meanings, history, pronunciation, and spelling of every word in the English language, both past and present. It is an etymological analysis of words ( Oxford ). The objective is to record “every word, every nuance, every shading of meaning and spelling and pronunciation, every twist of etymology, every possible illustrative citation from every English author” (Winchester 103). In essence, the OED is a “biography” for every English word (Winchester 105). The noble, yet immense ambition of Dr. James Murray.

When the idea of the dictionary was proposed in 1879, it was predicted to be 6,400 pages which would take ten years to complete; however, five years after the project began, the dictionary had reached only the word “ant” ( Oxford ). Murray was the first editor of the OED . He was born in Scotland and was self-educated. He devoted twenty-eight years of his life to the dictionary before his death in 1915. It was Murray's believe that quotations needed to be in the dictionary in order to “demonstrate the full range of characteristics of each and every word with a very great degree of precision. Quotations could show exactly how a word had been employed over the centuries” (Winchester 25-6). There are several ways to find words to put in a dictionary: listen to words spoken, copy words from other dictionaries, or read (Winchester 94). This final method was to be employed by the Oxford lexicographers. But it was physically impossible for Murray and his associates to read everything ever written, so they asked for contributors to send in words with definitions, quotations, and illustrations to add to the project. Thousands of people answered the call for help, but one individual in particular contributed to the OED like a madman.

Dr. William Chester Minor was born in Connecticut, became a surgeon, and served in the US army during the Civil War (Winchester 13). He suffered from delusions, thinking that the Irish were trying to kill him (Winchester 16). He came to London, and in February of 1872, Minor shot and killed George Merrett, a man who neither knew Minor nor had any contact with him prior to the attack (Winchester 3). Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum became Minor's home and prison (Winchester xiii). After eight years of confinement, Minor heard of Murray's request for contributors to the dictionary, and seeing this as an opportunity for “intellectual stimulus,” he decided to become a contributor (Winchester 113-4). Minor would read the books in his cell and document every word which he found fascinating; in this manner, he stayed a few letters ahead of the men working in Oxford (Winchester 139). Oxford often received hundreds of words from Minor in a single week (Winchester 155). Murray declared that Minor was “the most prolific of thousands of volunteer contributors” (Winchester xi). Neither Dr. Minor nor Dr. Murray lived to see the completed dictionary.

Although his story is far less dramatic than that of Dr. Minor, there was another major contributor to the OED which should be noted. Dr. Fitzedward Hall wrote to Oxford every single day for twenty-two years, making him another memorable contributor to the renowned Oxford English Dictionary (Winchester 167).

Because of the immense size of the project, the OED was published in fascicles. Volume one, A-B was released in 1884 while the final volume took until 1928 to be completed. Many other editors worked diligently on the project. Henry Bradley, born in Manchester, began his work on the OED in 1888 and continued until his death in 1923. William A. Craigie was the third editor. He became editor in 1901, working mainly from the letter N to the end of the alphabet. C.T. Onions claims that he had the last word on the OED because he was responsible for cross-referencing the word “zyxt,” which is literally the final word in the dictionary. Onions also worked on the longest entry in the dictionary, the word “set” ( Oxford ).

The First Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is ten volumes, totaling 15, 490 pages. It took the editors seventy years to complete the 252,200 entries. The 2,000 contributors sent in five million quotations, 1,861,200 of which appear in the dictionary (Oxford).

Only five years after the publication of the final volume, Oxford University Press, which had assumed the role of publishing the monstrosity, released the Supplement which updated the OED by adding new words. Four more supplementary volumes were completed between 1972 and 1986. In 1989 the Second Edition was published. There have been three other editors who have worked on updates to the OED. Robert Burchfield was born in New Zealand, and he is responsible for broadening the scope of the dictionary to include words used in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Pakistan. Many words he assimilated into the dictionary were slang terms. The two current editors are Edmund Weiner and John Simpson ( Oxford ).

The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is twenty volumes, consisting of 21,730 pages. This massive reference weights 137.72 pounds and took 6,243 pounds of ink to print a single copy of the completed work. There are 291,500 entries with fifty-nine million words and 350 million characters. The longest entry is the word “set” which has 430 senses, 60,000 words, and 326,000 characters. In the Second Edition are 2,436,600 quotations. The most often quoted work is the Bible with 25,000 references; the most often quoted author is Shakespeare with 33,300 references. Hamlet alone is quoted almost 1600 times in the dictionary ( Oxfor d).

In 1992 the text was printed on CD-ROM. This project included 120 typists and fifty proofreaders. The endeavor prices at 13.5 million US dollars and took five years to complete ( Oxford ). Recently the OE D has gone online. It took eighteen months and 150 typists to input the dictionary into the correct format (Elliott). Five hundred and forty megabytes of memory are used to hold the complete dictionary ( Oxford ). In order to get the software development needed to input the information, Oxford University Press spent over one million US dollars (Elliott). Never has the dictionary been profitable to Oxford University Press which spent approximately fifty-five million US dollars to fund the revision program (Oxford). Today there is a website for the Oxford English Dictionary . There is also a “word of the day” site produced by the OED on the website.

The Third Edition of the dictionary is due in 2020, but until then, the OED is continually updated with the release of Supplements (Sharpiro “Dictionary” par. 25). Some interesting words and phrases which have found a home in the dictionary, although they may seem as though they do not belong are chat room, chick flick, duh, munchies, wedgie, and wussy (Sharpiro “Short List” par. 2-11). Others include Grinch, beltway, lap dance, road rage, and get real (Sharpiro “Dictionary” par. 7). The longest word in the dictionary is forty-five letters long: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a lung disease “caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust” (Sharpio “Short List” par. 13).

The drive to document the history of every English word fueled Dr. Murray and future editors and staff members to work tirelessly on what we now have as the Oxford English Dictionary . It is unarguably the most complete dictionary in the English language, which is being revised daily. The OED is one of the greatest contributions to language yet, and it remains a paradigm of perfection.

Works Cited

Elliott, Laura. “How the Oxford English Dictionary Went Online.” Ariadne. 26 June 2000. <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/oed-tech>.

McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English . 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Oxford English Dictionary . 2003. <http://www.oed.com>.

Sharpiro, Howard. “Dictionary Grows as English Language Evolves.” Philadelphia Inquirer . 4 February 2003.

Sharpiro, Howard. “A Short List of New Words.” Philadelphia Inquirer . 4 February 2003.

Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman . New York: Harper Perennial, 1998.

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• How to Write a Definition Essay

A definition essay can be deceivingly difficult to write. This type of paper requires you to write a personal yet academic definition of one specific word. The definition must be thorough and lengthy. It is essential that you choose a word that will give you plenty to write about, and there are a few standard tactics you can use to elaborate on the term. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when writing a definition essay.

Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Word

1: choose an abstract word with a complex meaning. [1].

A simple word that refers to a concrete word will not give you much to write about, but a complex word that refers to an abstract concept provides more material to explore.

• Typically, nouns that refer to a person, place, or thing are too simple for a definition essay. Nouns that refer to an idea work better, however, as do most adjectives.
• For example, the word “house” is fairly simple and an essay written around it may be dull. By switching to something slightly more abstract like “home,” however, you can play around with the definition more. A “home” is a concept, and there are many elements involved in the creation of a “home.” In comparison, a “house” is merely a structure.

2: Make sure that the word is disputable.

Aside from being complex, the word should also refer to something that can mean different things to different people.

• A definition essay is somewhat subjective by nature since it requires you to analyze and define a word from your own perspective. If the answer you come up with after analyzing a word is the same answer anyone else would come up with, your essay may appear to lack depth.

3: Choose a word you have some familiarity with.

Dictionary definitions can only tell you so much. Since you need to elaborate on the word you choose to define, you will need to have your own base of knowledge or experience with the concept you choose.

• For instance, if you have never heard the term “pedantic,” your understanding of the word will be limited. You can introduce yourself to the word for your essay, but without previous understanding of the concept, you will not know if the definition you describe is truly fitting.

4: Read the dictionary definition.

While you will not be relying completely on the dictionary definition for your essay, familiarizing yourself with the official definition will allow you to compare your own understanding of the concept with the simplest, most academic explanation of it.

• As an example, one definition of “friend” is “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.” [2] Your own ideas or beliefs about what a “friend” really is likely include much more information, but this basic definition can present you with a good starting point in forming your own.

5:  Research the word’s origins.

Look up your chosen word in the Oxford English Dictionary or in another etymology dictionary. [3]

• These sources can tell you the history behind a word, which can provide further insight on a general definition as well as information about how a word came to mean what it means today.

Part 2 of 3: Potential Elements of an Effective Definition

1: write an analysis. [4].

Separate a word into various parts. Analyze and define each part in its own paragraph.

• You can separate “return” into “re-” and “turn.” The word “friendship” can be separated into “friend” and “ship.”
• In order to analyze each portion of a word, you will still need to use additional defining tactics like negation and classification.
• Note that this tactic only works for words that contain multiple parts. The word “love,” for instance, cannot be broken down any further. If defining “platonic love,” though, you could define both “platonic” and “love” separately within your essay.

2:  Classify the term.

Specify what classes and parts of speech a word belongs to according to a standard dictionary definition.

• While this information is very basic and dry, it can provide helpful context about the way that a given word is used.

3: Compare an unfamiliar term to something familiar.

An unfamiliar or uncommon concept can be explained using concepts that are more accessible to the average person.

• Many people have never heard of the term “confrere,” for instance. One basic definition is “a fellow member of a profession, fraternity, etc.” As such, you could compare “confrere” with “colleague,” which is a similar yet more familiar concept. [5]

4:  Provide traditional details about the term.

Explain any physical characteristics or traditional thoughts used to describe your term of choice.

• The term “home” is often visualized physically as a house or apartment. In more abstract terms, “home” is traditionally thought to be a warm, cozy, and safe environment. You can include all of these features in a definition essay on “home.”

5: Use examples to illustrate the meaning.

People often relate to stories and vivid images, so using a fitting story or image that relates to the term can be used in clarifying an abstract, formless concept.

• In a definition essay about “kindness,” for example, you could write about an act of kindness you recently witnessed. Someone who mows the lawn of an elderly neighbor is a valid example, just as someone who gave you an encouraging word when you were feeling down might be.

6: Use negation to explain what the term does not mean.

If a term is often misused or misunderstood, mentioning what it is not is an effective way to bring the concept into focus.

• A common example would be the term “courage.” The term is often associated with a lack of fear, but many will argue that “courage” is more accurately described as acting in spite of fear.

7: Provide background information.

This is when your research about the etymology of a word will come in handy. Explain where the term originated and how it came to mean what it currently means.

Part 3 of 3: Definition Essay Structure

1: introduce the standard definition..

You need to clearly state what your word is along with its traditional or dictionary definition in your introductory paragraph.

• By opening with the dictionary definition of your term, you create context and a basic level of knowledge about the word. This will allow you to introduce and elaborate on your own definition.
• This is especially significant when the traditional definition of your term varies from your own definition in notable ways.

2: Define the term in your own words in your thesis.

Your actual thesis statement should define the term in your own words.

• Keep the definition in your thesis brief and basic. You will elaborate on it more in the body of your paper.
• Avoid using passive phrases involving the word “is” when defining your term. The phrases “is where” and “is when” are especially clunky. [6]
• Do not repeat part of the defined term in your definition.

3:  Separate different parts of the definition into separate paragraphs.

Each tactic or method used to define your term should be explored in a separate paragraph.

• Note that you do not need to use all the possible methods of defining a term in your essay. You should use a variety of different methods in order to create a full, well-rounded picture of the term, but some tactics will work great with some terms but not with others.

4: Conclude with a summary of your main points.

Briefly summarize your main points around the start of your concluding paragraph.

• This summary does not need to be elaborate. Usually, looking at the topic sentence of each body paragraph is a good way to form a simple list of your main points.
• You can also draw the essay to a close by referring to phrases or images evoked in your introduction.

5: Mention how the definition has affected you, if desired.

If the term you define plays a part in your own life and experiences, your final concluding remarks are a good place to briefly mention the role it plays.

• Relate your experience with the term to the definition you created for it in your thesis. Avoid sharing experiences that relate to the term but contradict everything you wrote in your essay.

Sources and Citations

• http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Definition.html
• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/friend?s=t
• http://www.etymonline.com/
• http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/definition.html
• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/confrere?s=t
• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/definition.htm
• How to Write a Definition Essay. Provided by : WikiHow. Located at : http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Definition-Essay . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (Access Requires Login)

• Overview of Instructor Resources

An Overview of the Writing Process

• Introduction to the Writing Process
• Introduction to Writing
• Your Role as a Learner
• What is an Essay?
• Reading to Write
• Defining the Writing Process
• Videos: Prewriting Techniques
• Thesis Statements
• Organizing an Essay
• Creating Paragraphs
• Conclusions
• Editing and Proofreading
• Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style
• Peer Review Checklist
• Comparative Chart of Writing Strategies

Using Sources

• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting the Works Cited Page (MLA)
• Citing Paraphrases and Summaries (APA)
• APA Citation Style, 6th edition: General Style Guidelines

Definition Essay

• Definitional Argument Essay
• Critical Thinking
• Video: Thesis Explained
• Effective Thesis Statements
• Student Sample: Definition Essay

Narrative Essay

• Introduction to Narrative Essay
• Student Sample: Narrative Essay
• "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
• "Sixty-nine Cents" by Gary Shteyngart
• Video: The Danger of a Single Story
• How to Write an Annotation
• How to Write a Summary
• Writing for Success: Narration

Illustration/Example Essay

• Introduction to Illustration/Example Essay
• "She's Your Basic L.O.L. in N.A.D" by Perri Klass
• "April & Paris" by David Sedaris
• Writing for Success: Illustration/Example
• Student Sample: Illustration/Example Essay

Compare/Contrast Essay

• Introduction to Compare/Contrast Essay
• "Disability" by Nancy Mairs
• "Friending, Ancient or Otherwise" by Alex Wright
• "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard
• Writing for Success: Compare/Contrast
• Student Sample: Compare/Contrast Essay

Cause-and-Effect Essay

• Introduction to Cause-and-Effect Essay
• "Cultural Baggage" by Barbara Ehrenreich
• "Women in Science" by K.C. Cole
• Writing for Success: Cause and Effect
• Student Sample: Cause-and-Effect Essay

Argument Essay

• Introduction to Argument Essay
• Rogerian Argument
• "The Case Against Torture," by Alisa Soloman
• "The Case for Torture" by Michael Levin
• How to Write a Summary by Paraphrasing Source Material
• Writing for Success: Argument
• Student Sample: Argument Essay
• Grammar/Mechanics Mini-lessons
• Mini-lesson: Subjects and Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Subject Verb Agreement
• Mini-lesson: Sentence Types
• Mini-lesson: Fragments I
• Mini-lesson: Run-ons and Comma Splices I
• Mini-lesson: Comma Usage
• Mini-lesson: Parallelism
• Mini-lesson: The Apostrophe
• Mini-lesson: Capital Letters
• Grammar Practice - Interactive Quizzes
• De Copia - Demonstration of the Variety of Language
• Style Exercise: Voice

Should you use Dictionary Definitions in Essays? (Answered)

Dictionary definitions are commonly used in university papers. It is also very common for teachers to mark you down for using them!

If you’re like me, you use a dictionary website or Wikipedia to find definitions of terms that you don’t understand. It can be very helpful to get your head around an idea.

Even if you use a dictionary or Wikipedia to help yourself understand a term, try not to reference these non-academic sources in your paper.

Below, I outline three reasons students who get top marks don’t use dictionary definitions in essays, and I weave-in some strategies for providing definitions from different sources:

1. Dictionary Definitions are too General. Instead, do this…

Dictionaries are written for the general public. They provide general definitions of ideas, not explanations of ideas from people within your academic field (be it Science, Education, Sociology, Communications, etc.).

Dictionary definitions were written by a group of very smart people (probably linguists) sitting around a room. They were not written by experts on specific terms or concepts.

There’s a good chance the same group of people who wrote the definition of ‘Science’ also wrote the definitions of ‘Scene’ and ‘School’. The chance that they are experts on science, scenes, and schools, however, is very, very low.

It would be much better if you got the definition of ‘Science’ from a scientist, the definition of ‘Scene’ from a media scholar, and the definition of ‘School’ from a professor in Education.

Furthermore, these linguists did not write the definitions of Science, Scene, and School for you to use in your essay.

They wrote them with a more general audience in mind: Children in Grade 3 learning words for the first time, people with English as a second language, or your grandfather doing his crossword puzzle.

To find a clear definition that is accepted in the field in which your degree is situated (Physics? Communications? Economics?) you will need to get that definition from an expert in that same field – not from a general linguist.

Take the term ‘Discourse’. Here’s how a few different people might define this term:

These three definitions of discourse are, technically, all true. But, these definitions exist in different contexts:

• If you were to write a 5 th Grade essay on the term ‘discourse’, the dictionary definition would probably be great;
• If you were to write a 100-level undergraduate essay in a Communications course, the definition by Expert 1 would probably work out okay;
• If you were to write a postgraduate essay in a Sociology course, the definition by Expert 2 would likely be the only one your professor would accept.

By sourcing a definition of a concept in your assigned readings or a textbook on your specific topic, you will get as close as possible to the definition that your teacher probably expects.

It is often a good idea to define terms early in your essay in order to clearly outline the scope of your discussion for your marker. You could, for example, start a sentence or paragraph early in your essay with:

By defining a term not through a dictionary, but in relation to your field of inquiry, you will start to grow your marks and look as if you have an in-depth understanding of your field of inquiry.

2. Dictionary Definitions are not Analytical. Instead, do this…

There are very few words that can be defined in one sentence.

Most words are defined and contested by different scholars. Some see it one way, some see it another. It is very hard to find one, an overarching definition that explains exactly how a word is used by everyone who comes across it.

Above, I provided three different definitions of a term and some examples of how they might be used in an essay.

One way to really show off your critical thinking skills is to provide several different definitions of a term and compare them.

Let’s take the example of the term ‘power’. This term is very much contested in nearly every field of inquiry. To be brief, Karl Marx and Jean-Paul Sartre would likely argue for days about what power is and how it operates in society.

Marx would contest that it is exercised by the powerful to oppress the weak; Sartre would contest that we all have some power in every situation in our lives, no matter how weak we are.

Here’s an outline of how you might want to be analytical in examining definitions at university:

1. Provide Expert definition Number 1.

2. Provide Expert definition Number 2.

3. Compare the two definitions.

Here, you can write one paragraph that goes well beyond just defining a term. By following these three steps, you are showing that:

• You have an understanding of two definitions of a term;
• You have an understanding that different people have different definitions;
• You have been analytical in showing how the two definitions differ.

3. It looks like you didn’t read Academic Sources. Try this instead:

Somewhere between 10% and 50% of all essays I read appear to be Essay-by-Google. That is, it’s clear the student didn’t read any assigned readings, textbooks, or journal articles in writing their essay.

These essays look like the student sat down 5 days before the due date, opened up Google, and started writing away. Teachers can tell because there are a lot of websites and, yes, dictionaries listed in the reference list.

No student is going to get a top mark when it looks like they wrote their essay by google.

If you want to make it look like you actually put effort into your essay, you want to avoid the appearance that you dug up the closes dictionary and copied down the definition.

Instead, always aim to find definitions from academic sources – preferably textbooks. Textbooks provide good, clear, and specific definitions for your area of inquiry.

So next time you want to provide a definition of a term, dig up a textbook, not a dictionary.

Now you know … Here’s how to Grow Your Grades:

Dictionary definitions are commonly used in essays right up to postgraduate level studies. You’re not going to fail if you use one, but you’ll never be a top student either.

Here, I have offered three reasons why you shouldn’t use dictionary definitions:

• Dictionary definitions are too general
• Dictionary definitions are not Analytical
• It looks like you didn’t read Academic Sources

Top students never use dictionary definitions. If you want to be a top student, you need to start finding new academic sources for your definitions. Here are two key points that I’ve outlined in this post to help you grow your marks when using definitions:

• Get definitions of terms from textbooks in your field of study. Check out our post on how to find scholarly articles if you can’t find them!;
• If you find two definitions, provide both of them;
• Compare definitions if you find several that disagree. How are they different?

To finish off, I want to give you one more reason not to use dictionary definitions that overrules the rest:

• Teachers hate Them

Even if you disagree with me and think dictionary definitions are great, the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of teachers don’t like dictionary definitions. They will mark you down for using them.

That alone should steer you away from ever using a dictionary definition in your essay ever again.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Animism Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 10 Magical Thinking Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

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