semantics

UK: /sɪˈmæntɪks/ US: /sɪˈmæntɪks/ ,(si man′tiks)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

se•man•tics /sɪˈmæntɪks/   n. 

1. Linguistics [uncountable; used with a singular verb] a branch of linguistics dealing with the study of meaning, the ways meaning is structured in language, and changes in meaning and form over time.
2. Linguistics the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, etc.: [uncountable; used with a singular verb]
   Let's not argue about semantics.
   [plural* used with a plural verb]
   The semantics of those terms are confusing.

se•man•tic, adj.: 

There is bound to be semantic confusion when translating from one language to another.

se•man•ti•cist /sɪˈmæntəsɪst/  n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

se•man•tics  (si man′tiks), n. (used with a sing. v.)

1. Linguistics
   • the study of meaning.
   • the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
2. Philosophy, Linguistics, Linguistics Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.
3. Linguistics the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.:
   Let's not argue about semantics.
4. Linguistics See general semantics. 

• 1895–1900; see semantic, -ics

se•man•ti•cist  (si man′tə sist), se•man•ti•cian  (sē′man tish′ən), n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

semantics / sɪˈmæntɪks/ noun (functioning as singular)

1. the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning, changes in meaning, and the principles that govern the relationship between sentences or words and their meanings
2. the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent
3. (of a formal theory) the principles that determine the truth or falsehood of sentences within the theory, and the references of its terms

seˈmanticist noun