context
noun
con·text
ˈkän-ˌtekst 
1
: the parts of a discourse that surround a word, phrase, or passage and that help to explain its meaning
When you use other words in a sentence to help you learn the meaning of a certain word, you are using context clues.—
H. Thompson Fillmer et al.
H. Thompson Fillmer et al.To really know a word, you must be able to use it in context.
When taken out of context, his comments sound cruel, but he was only joking.
2
: the situation in which something happens : environment, setting
the historical context of the war
… even your suffering … can be seen in the context of what the whole world is going through.—Alice Walker
Alice Walker
contextually
adverb
Did you know?
Context, in Context
In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant "the weaving together of words in language." This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered.
Examples of context in a Sentence
… it was Dickens who first used the word 'detective' in a literary context …
—John Mullan, How Novels Work, 2006
Entrepreneurship and civil freedoms depend on a context of civil order, predictability, and individual security.
—Susan L. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, 1995
… the old building, its original acre, inside its high outer wall, was immune to change, out of context and out of time.
—Harriet Doerr, The Tiger in the Grass, 1995
We need to look at the event within the larger context of world history.
The book puts these events in their proper historical and social contexts.
We need to consider these events in context.
John Mullan, How Novels Work, 2006
Entrepreneurship and civil freedoms depend on a context of civil order, predictability, and individual security.
—Susan L. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, 1995
… the old building, its original acre, inside its high outer wall, was immune to change, out of context and out of time.
—Harriet Doerr, The Tiger in the Grass, 1995
We need to look at the event within the larger context of world history.
The book puts these events in their proper historical and social contexts.
We need to consider these events in context.
Recent Examples on the Web
But a total of 150-4 seemed at least 20 runs below par, and it was put into proper context by the ease with which Australia raced to their target.
—
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
5 July 2026
The question turns on the meaning of the Citizenship Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, the historical context of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the application of its principles to new circumstances.
—
Susan Shelley,
Oc Register,
5 July 2026
Token prices and inference costs may continue to fall, but total AI bills can still rise as companies use more tokens, deploy longer-context and agentic workflows, and fund the data-center, power, and frontier-model infrastructure behind them.
—
Henrik Totterman,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2026
Adding to this context, engineering manager Roel Verhoeven noted that the primary hurdle for commercial fusion is ensuring that plants can actually be serviced throughout their operational lifespans.
—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
4 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for context
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
5 July 2026
The question turns on the meaning of the Citizenship Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, the historical context of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the application of its principles to new circumstances.
—
Susan Shelley,
Oc Register,
5 July 2026
Token prices and inference costs may continue to fall, but total AI bills can still rise as companies use more tokens, deploy longer-context and agentic workflows, and fund the data-center, power, and frontier-model infrastructure behind them.
—
Henrik Totterman,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2026
Adding to this context, engineering manager Roel Verhoeven noted that the primary hurdle for commercial fusion is ensuring that plants can actually be serviced throughout their operational lifespans.
—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
4 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for context
Cite this Entry
“Context.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
context
noun
con·text
ˈkän-ˌtekst
1
: the parts of something written or spoken that are near a certain word or group of words and that help to explain its meaning
2
: the circumstances in which something exists or occurs
contextually
adverb
-ē
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