terminal point

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The place where a route, line or movement stops, as the last stop or the far end of something.

   Grammar: Countable and followed by of: the terminal point of the trail.

   Patterns

   • the terminal point of something
   • reach a terminal point

   The terminal point of the railway is a small station by the sea.

   Hikers reach the terminal point of the trail after three days.

   The river's terminal point is a wide delta.

2. 2nouncountablemathematics

   In mathematics, the end of a vector or a curve, the opposite of its starting point.

   Grammar: A countable technical term that is paired with initial point.

   Patterns

   • the terminal point of a vector
   • from the initial to the terminal point

   Draw an arrow from the initial point to the terminal point of the vector.

   The terminal point of the curve lies at the coordinates (4, 3).

   In the exercise, students found the terminal point after rotating the line.

3. 3nouncountableformal

   The moment or stage at which a process, project or period of time finally ends.

   Grammar: Countable and slightly formal: the terminal point of the study.

   Patterns

   • the terminal point of something

   The terminal point of the experiment was reached when the sample stopped reacting.

   The treaty marked the terminal point of years of conflict.

   Researchers set the terminal point of the trial at five years.

Word forms

Common combinations

reach the terminal point

The bus will reach the terminal point at noon.

terminal point of a vector

Label the terminal point of a vector with an arrowhead.

initial and terminal points

The initial and terminal points of the path are marked on the map.

set a terminal point

The committee set a terminal point for the review.

natural terminal point

The valley is the natural terminal point of the glacier.

Synonyms and how they differ

endpoint

Endpoint is the more common and plainer word, especially in mathematics and computing, while terminal point is more formal.

terminus

Terminus is mostly used for the final stop of a railway or bus line, so it is narrower than terminal point.

destination

Destination means the place someone is traveling to, but terminal point just means where something stops, whether or not anyone was aiming for it.

limit

Limit means the boundary that cannot be passed, while terminal point means the place where something actually ends.

Opposites

Word family

terminal noun

a station at the end of a transport line, or a computer screen and keyboard

terminal adjective

at the end, or causing death, as in a terminal illness

terminate verb

to bring something to an end

termination noun

the act of ending something

terminus noun

the last stop or end of a line

Commonly confused: terminal point or turning point?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “terminal point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words