terminus

noun

ter·​mi·​nus ˈtər-mə-nəs 

plural termini ˈtər-mə-ˌnī  -ˌnē  or terminuses

1

: either end of a transportation line or travel route

also : the station, town, or city at such a place : terminal

2

: an extreme point or element : tip

the terminus of a glacier

3

: a final goal : a finishing point

4

: a post or stone marking a boundary

Did you know?

This word comes straight from Latin. In the Roman empire, a terminus was a boundary stone, and all boundary stones had a minor god associated with them, whose name was Terminus. Terminus was a kind of keeper of the peace, since wherever there was a terminus there could be no arguments about where your property ended and your neighbor's property began. So Terminus even had his own festival, the Terminalia, when images of the god were draped with flower garlands. Today the word shows up in all kinds of places, including in the name of numerous hotels worldwide built near a city's railway terminus.

Examples of terminus in a Sentence

Stockholm is the terminus for the southbound train.

Geologists took samples from the terminus of the glacier.

the terminus of the DNA strand

Recent Examples on the Web

Visit both or just browse their stall at the gourmet marketplace and mall that’s been carved out of the onetime water terminus, the Ferry Building. —Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 21 Aug. 2025

The primary entrance would be at the northern Highland Drive terminus south of Lake Drive, and a secondary entrance would be at the southern terminus near the I-43 underpass. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025

In recent years, there has been more than a 16-fold increase in the thinning rate of the glacier at the terminus -- where the glacier is currently grounded on in the water -- from about 1 foot between 2000 and 2019 to an average of 18 feet between 2019 and 2024, the researchers found. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2025

Traffic at the highway’s now-southern terminus, an east-west stub between Kuna Road and Orchard Avenue, is expected to decrease 29%, thanks to the future extension. —Rose Evans july 23, Idaho Statesman, 23 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, boundary marker, limit — more at term entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1617, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing terminus

• terminus ad quem
• terminus a quo

Rhymes for terminus

• conterminous
• coterminous

Kids Definition

terminus

noun

ter·​mi·​nus ˈtər-mə-nəs 

plural termini -ˌnī 

-ˌnē

or terminuses

1

: final goal : finishing point

2

: a post or stone marking a boundary

3

a

: either end of a transportation line or travel route

b

: the station or town at such a place

Medical Definition

terminus

noun

ter·​mi·​nus ˈtər-mə-nəs 

plural termini -ˌnī  -ˌnē  also terminuses

: an end or ending especially of a molecular chain, a chromosome, or a process of a nerve cell