terminate meaning and definition

TERMINATE verb

Definition of terminate (verb)

1. 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"
   • synonyms: end
   • antonym: begin
2. 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"
   • synonyms: cease, end, finish, stop
   • antonym: begin
3. be the end of; be the last or concluding part of
   • "This sad scene ended the movie"
   • synonyms: end
4. terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
   • "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"
   • synonyms: can, dismiss, displace, fire, force out, give notice, give the axe, give the sack, sack, send away
   • antonym: employ