episode
noun
ep·i·sode
ˈe-pə-ˌsōd 
also
-ˌzōd
1
: a usually brief unit of action in a dramatic or literary work: such as
a
: the part of an ancient Greek tragedy between two choric songs
b
: a developed situation that is integral to but separable from a continuous narrative : incident
c
: one of a series of loosely connected stories or scenes
d
: the part of a serial presented at one performance
2
: an event that is distinctive and separate although part of a larger series
3
: a digressive subdivision in a musical composition
Examples of episode in a Sentence
It was a brief romantic episode in a life devoted to work.
He tried to forget the whole embarrassing episode.
a painful episode from my childhood
Millions of people are expected to watch the show's final episode.
Recent Examples on the Web
What made this one death memorable--coming out of a nation that routinely shoots into crowds of protesters--is that the whole episode was caught on video.
—
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
The episode took place just a few miles from where George Floyd was killed by a city police officer kneeling on his neck in 2020.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
The trailer also shows a bit of the debate over what Eleven’s fate — a conversation that (spoiler) fans are still having after seeing the episode.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
The show, which covers true-crime cases, will launch its new season on January 19 with video episodes.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for episode
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Editorial Board, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
The episode took place just a few miles from where George Floyd was killed by a city police officer kneeling on his neck in 2020.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
The trailer also shows a bit of the debate over what Eleven’s fate — a conversation that (spoiler) fans are still having after seeing the episode.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
The show, which covers true-crime cases, will launch its new season on January 19 with video episodes.
—Peter White, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for episode
Cite this Entry
“Episode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/episode. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
episode
noun
ep·i·sode
ˈep-ə-ˌsōd
: an event that is part of a longer story or of history or a life but which is viewed as complete by itself
episodic
adjective
ˌep-ə-ˈsäd-ik
Medical Definition
episode
noun
ep·i·sode
ˈep-ə-ˌsōd also -ˌzōd
: an event that is distinctive and separate although part of a larger series
especially
: an occurrence of a usually recurrent pathological abnormal condition
a manic episode
hypoglycemic episodes
episodic
adjective
ˌep-ə-ˈsäd-ik also -ˈzäd-
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