context

American  

[kon-tekst] / ˈkɒn tɛkst /

noun

1. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect.

   You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.

2. the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   climate, milieu, background

3. Mycology. the fleshy fibrous body of the pileus in mushrooms.

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context British  

/ ˈkɒntɛkst /

noun

1. the parts of a piece of writing, speech, etc, that precede and follow a word or passage and contribute to its full meaning

   it is unfair to quote out of context

2. the conditions and circumstances that are relevant to an event, fact, etc

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Usage

What is context? Context is a noun that means the parts of a statement that immediately precede or follow a specific section of the statement and help explain that section. The context of a specific text clarifies the meaning of that text, as in When the politician was asked to apologize for lying, he claimed that he had been quoted out of context and that he wasn’t actually lying. Context is also the conditions related to an event or situation that helps a person understand the event or situation. Conditions can include surroundings (where something took place), circumstances (what else was happening at the time), and background (such as events that happened before). For example, the context of a historical event, such as what else was happening at the time and how people understood their environment, can help us better understand the event itself. One common expression that uses word context is context clues. Context clues are hints within a piece of writing that help us understand something unfamiliar, such as a word. For example, if you came across the word ethereal in a text, context clues could help you figure out that it means "delicate" and "beautiful." Another common expression that includes the word context is out of context. This expression is used to explain that the reason people understood a statement or text incorrectly was because the statement was removed from its surrounding text, which distorted its meaning. Example: Understanding the historical and scientific contexts of the Romantic period are essential to understanding Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.”

Other Word Forms

• contextless adjective

Etymology

Origin of context

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin contextus “a joining together, scheme, structure,” past participle of contexere “to join by weaving,” equivalent to con- con- + texere “to plait, weave”; cf. text

Explanation

Context means the setting of a word or event. If your friend is furious at you for calling her your worst enemy, remind her that the context of those remarks was Opposite Day. Context comes from the Latin for how something is made. It was first used to talk about writing, as in "the beautiful phrase occurs in the context of the concluding paragraph." We use it now to talk about any circumstance in which something happens. You might say that you can't understand what happens without looking at the context. When someone takes your words but makes it sound like you meant something else, they've taken your words out of context.

Example Sentences

JD: We have always been ambitious appropriate to our context.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

It was in that context that Diego Simeone, sitting alongside Griezmann in a packed media room before Atletico Madrid's quarter-final against Barcelona, did something rarely seen in football.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

The author places the Fowlers’ uplifting take on phrenology in the context of the era’s other reform movements—abolition, suffrage and temperance—which aimed for large-scale social transformation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

Sauer replied that the president's comments were being taken out of context and he was referring to "problems of crime, poverty and welfare dependency."

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

My intention was to give younger people a context for the hate surfacing in the news and in political discourse and to give them a reason to hope.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• background
• situation
• text