terminator

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Science Technical

n. the line on a moon or planet that separates the side in sunlight from the side in darkness.

n. the dividing line between the illuminated and unilluminated parts of a celestial body.

“Through the telescope, you can see craters clearly along the moon's terminator.”

“Shadows are longest and most dramatic near the terminator, providing astronomers with the best view of lunar topography.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

n. a piece of hardware or a code that marks the end of a data stream.

n. a device or character sequence that signifies the end of a transmission or prevents signal reflection in a circuit.

“The programmer forgot to add a null terminator at the end of the string.”

“Without a proper terminator at the end of the SCSI chain, signal reflections can cause significant data corruption.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Science Technical

n. a specific part of a gene that tells the cell to stop copying DNA.

n. a section of nucleic acid sequence that marks the end of a gene or operon in genomic DNA during transcription.

“The enzyme stops moving once it reaches the terminator sequence on the DNA.”

“The researchers identified a rho-independent terminator that effectively halted RNA polymerase activity in the bacterial culture.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Informal

n. a powerful robot or android designed to hunt and kill people, usually from movies.

n. a fictional, highly resilient autonomous android designed for assassination or extermination.

“The movie features a terminator sent from the future to change history.”

“The cultural image of the terminator has become a standard metaphor for the potential dangers of uncontrolled artificial intelligence.”