syllabus

noun

syl·​la·​bus ˈsi-lə-bəs 

plural syllabi ˈsi-lə-ˌbī 

-ˌbē

or syllabuses

1

: a summary outline of a discourse, treatise, or course of study or of examination requirements

2

: headnote sense 2

Examples of syllabus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Advertisement Books show American lit at its height The books becoming public read like the syllabus for an American literature seminar. —Andrew Dalton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2024

The University of North Carolina stunned much of the football world this week by hiring Belichick, whose all-time great NFL résumé stands in stark contrast to an empty syllabus of college experience. —David K. Li, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2024

The result is a perfect year-end syllabus for anyone looking to expand their literary horizons or find a comfortable niche to retreat to. —Ilana Masad, Them, 25 Nov. 2024

The syllabus, though, makes up for it (almost), ranging from the basics of probability to image processing to control programming. —IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2012

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, alteration of Latin sillybus label for a book, from Greek sillybos

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

syllabus

noun

syl·​la·​bus ˈsil-ə-bəs 

plural syllabi -ˌbī 

-ˌbē

or syllabuses

: a brief outline (as of a course of study)