Meaning & use

layman's terms

phrase·Everyday

Simple, non-technical language that someone without specialized training or expertise can easily understand.

See it in a sentence

The doctor explained the diagnosis in layman's terms instead of using medical jargon.

Could you put that legal contract into layman's terms for me?

A note on using this word

A layman is a non-expert in a given field, so the phrase means stripping away specialized vocabulary.

Words with a similar meaning

plain languagesimple terms

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

technical jargon

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