Definition of "determiner" in English

noun

1. Someone or something that determines, or helps to determine, something else.

2. A member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it.

   • Near-synonym: determinative (broadly synonymous)
   • Definite articles, indefinite articles, and cardinal numbers acting as quantifiers are types of determiners.

3. A dependent function in a noun phrase that marks it as definite or indefinite. This function is usually filled by words in the determinative class but may be filled by other elements such as a genitive pronoun.

   • Near-synonym: determinative (broadly synonymous)
   • In the sentence "Many people voted for him," the word many is a determiner.