1. The act, process, or technique of describing.
2. A statement or an account describing something: published a description of the journey; gave a vivid description of the game.
3. A pictorial representation: Monet's ethereal descriptions of haystacks and water lilies.
4. A kind or sort: cars of every size and description.

[Middle English descripcioun, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin dēscrīptiō, dēscrīptiōn-, from dēscrīptus, past participle of dēscrībere, to write down. See describe.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.