Terming is the present participle of the verb to term. It means giving something a name, a label, or a description, as in “terming a plan a failure” or “terming this process photosynthesis.” In finance and politics you will also hear the phrase terming out, which has its own separate meaning. This guide walks through both, with plain examples you can actually use.
Terming Definition in Simple Words
When someone is terming something, they are calling it by a certain name or describing it in a certain way. The verb term works a lot like call or label, just a little more formal and a little more deliberate.
Dictionaries list termed, terms, and terming as the verb forms of term. So “terming” is simply the -ing version you use when the action is happening right now or is part of a longer sentence.
- Base form: term
- Third person singular: terms
- Past tense and past participle: termed
- Present participle (-ing form): terming
How to Use Terming in a Sentence
The verb usually follows a pattern: someone terms something a thing, or terms something unfair, amazing, necessary, and so on. Here are a few natural examples.
- The reporter is terming the new policy a turning point for small businesses.
- Several voters were terming the proposal unfair long before the vote.
- She keeps terming her habit “a small ritual,” though it takes up half her morning.
- Researchers are terming the pattern a feedback loop.
Notice that you do not need the word “as” after it. You can say “terming it a success,” not “terming it as a success.” Some people do add “as,” and you will see it in casual writing, but the cleaner form skips it.
Where the Word Comes From
The root word term traces back to the Latin terminus, which meant an end or a boundary. That origin makes sense when you think about it. To give something a term is, in a way, to draw a line around it and say exactly what it is. It is the same idea behind a “term” as a fixed stretch of time that begins and ends, or the “terms” of an agreement that mark out what each side must do.
Terming vs. Calling vs. Labeling
These words overlap, but they do not feel identical in a sentence.
- Calling is the everyday choice. It sounds natural in conversation.
- Terming sounds more considered, the kind of word you find in articles, reports, and speeches.
- Labeling often suggests putting something into a fixed box, and it can carry a slightly negative tone when the label feels too simple.
- Describing as needs “as” and feels a little looser than terming.
If you want your writing to sound relaxed, reach for calling. If you want it to sound a bit more precise, terming does the job nicely.
What “Terming Out” Means
This is the part that catches many readers off guard. When you add out, the meaning shifts, and it shows up in two common settings.
1. Terming Out in Finance
In business, terming out usually means turning short-term debt into longer-term debt, often without taking on brand new borrowing. Instead of one large payment landing all at once, the repayment is spread across a longer period. Finance glossaries describe it as moving debt around on a company’s balance sheet so it becomes easier to manage.
Picture a company that borrowed a large sum years ago and now faces one big repayment. If it terms out the loan, the same debt gets split into smaller yearly pieces instead. Nothing magical happens to the amount owed. What changes is the timing, and for many companies timing is the whole problem.
Some loan agreements even build this in. Legal databases show credit agreements with a “term-out” option, which lets a borrower keep part of a loan outstanding past its original end date, usually for a limited extra period. You can see examples of how these clauses are worded on Law Insider.
It is also worth knowing that terming out is not exactly the same as refinancing. Refinancing generally means replacing old debt with new debt, while terming out is about restructuring how the existing debt is scheduled.
2. Terming Out in Politics
In government, an official who is termed out has reached the legal limit on how long they can hold an office. It is common in discussions of state legislatures and governors in the United States. A senator might say she cannot run again because she is termed out, meaning the law now blocks another run.
The same phrase can also describe something simply reaching the end of its term, such as a lease. Wiktionary’s entry for “term out” covers both the finishing-a-term sense and the finance sense if you want to see them side by side.
Other Meanings of “Term” Worth Knowing
Because terming comes from term, it helps to remember how many jobs that small word does. According to Merriam-Webster, term can refer to a specialized word in a field, a defined length of time, a division of the school year, the conditions of an agreement, or a relationship between people, among several other uses. The verb we have been discussing is only one branch of that family.
A quick way to tell which meaning you are dealing with is to look at the sentence around it:
- If something is being named or described, it is the verb, and “terming” fits.
- If it is about a stretch of time, it is the noun, as in a four-year term.
- If it appears as “terms” next to conditions, payments, or contracts, it is about the rules of an agreement.
A Note on Informal Workplace Use
You may occasionally hear term used as a casual shortening of terminate, as in a company deciding to “term” an employee. This is informal workplace slang and is not how most formal writing uses the word. If you are writing something official, it is safer to say “terminate” or “end employment” so no one misreads your meaning.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Mixing up “terming” and “terminating.” They sound similar but mean different things. Terming is about naming. Terminating is about ending.
- Confusing “terming” with “terminology.” Terminology is the set of special words used in a field. Terming is the act of calling something by one of them.
- Overusing it. It is a good word, but a paragraph full of “terming” will read stiffly. Mix it with calling and describing.
- Forgetting the second meaning. If you read “terming out” in a financial article, do not assume it is about naming anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Terming means giving something a name or description. It is the -ing form of the verb “term,” which is close in meaning to “call” or “label.”
Yes. It is the standard present participle of the verb term, listed in dictionaries alongside terms and termed.
“Term” is the base form of the verb, and also a common noun. “Terming” is the verb form used for ongoing action, such as “she is terming it a mistake.”
It generally means converting short-term debt into longer-term debt so the repayments are spread over more time, without necessarily borrowing anything new.
It means a person has hit the legal limit on how long they may serve in a given position and cannot run for it again.
Calling, naming, labeling, dubbing, and describing as all work, depending on how formal you want to sound.
The Bottom Line
Terming is a simple idea wrapped in a slightly formal word. It is the act of calling something by a name or placing a description on it. Once you add “out,” it moves into the worlds of finance and politics, where it describes spreading debt over a longer period or reaching the end of an allowed time in office. Keep the context in mind, and the meaning rarely gets confusing.