1. serving to identify the essential qualities or meaning of something

1. present participle of define: stating the exact meaning of something

Examples

• The defining moment of her career came when she won the championship.
• His kindness was the defining characteristic that everyone remembered.
• The teacher is defining new vocabulary words for the students.
• She spent hours defining the terms in her research paper.
• The defining feature of this species is its bright coloration.
• He is defining the boundaries of the project clearly.
• The defining aspect of democracy is citizen participation.