We have roughly 6500 spoken languages in the world. Even in the English language, we understand concepts differently. In order to ensure we all come to the same understanding, we must ensure we all agree on the definition. A simple word “biscuit” will have different meanings for an American and an Englishman.

Unified Compliance Framework has provided good reading materials on how to write a good definition in “The Definition Book: How to Write Definitions“. A brief summary:

• Using Words You and Your Audience Know
• Know that words we use do not have only one correct meaning
• Use dictionaries to validate different usage of the terms
• Know the various types of definition
• Test the definition to ensure it will not create confusion

Here are the Steps to follow:

1. Limit Your Definitions to a Single Concept
2. Research the Term
3. Determine the Term’s Concept
4. Choosing the Definition Type
5. How to Formalize the Term Entry
6. Add Semantic Relationships to the Definition