terms of service

plural noun

: the legal terms (see term entry 1 sense 4) that set forth the nature, scope, and limits of a service (such as one offered through a website or an app) and the rules that the service's users must agree to follow
… Twitter users' complaints alerted the company that three of his messages violated the terms of serviceJake Tapper
… most people have no idea what is signed away when they click "agree" to binding terms of service contracts—again and again on phones, laptops, tablets, watches, e-readers and televisions.The New York Times
abbreviation TOS

Examples of terms of service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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While the app's terms of service are primarily in Mandarin, its privacy policies for children and teenagers are available in English. Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025 The second is assessing whether the flagged content violates the law or the platform’s terms of service. Anjana Susarla, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025 The big difference is that Fishbowl requires identity verification, so Glassdoor changed its terms of service to require the same. Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2024 There were other controversies, too: In 2022, Instagram banned Pornhub for violating its terms of service. Jason Parham, WIRED, 9 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for terms of service 

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of terms of service was in 1994

Dictionary Entries Near terms of service

Cite this Entry

“Terms of service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terms%20of%20service. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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