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Anything unknown, undetermined, or not specifically designated; a certain indefinite thing; an indeterminate or unknown event; an unspecified task, work, or thing. There is something in the wind. Shak. The whole world has something to do, something to talk of, something to wish for, and something to be employed about.…

At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly. Did they not sometime cry "All hail" to me Shak.

At some indefinite time. [R.]

Limited in range; confined to a definite field of action, investigation, or discussion; as, a special dictionary of commercial terms; a special branch of study.

specie from them" [i. e., kindness for kindness]. Dryden. In specie (Law), in precise or definite form; specifically; according to the exact terms; of the very thing.

Specifying; definite, or making definite; limited; precise; discriminating; as, a specific statement.

A pile of poles or wood, indefinite in quantity. Against every pillar was a stack of billets above a man's height. Bacon.

pers. [Obs.] Halliwell. -- Statute fair. See Statute, n., 3, above. -- Statute labor, a definite amount of labor required for the public service in making roads, bridges, etc., as in certain English colonies. -- Statute merchant (Eng. Law), a bond of record pursuant to the stat. 13 Edw. I., acknowledged in form pres…

That which is stipulated, or agreed upon; that which is definitely arranged or contracted; an agreement; a covenant; a contract or bargain; also, any particular article, item, or condition, in a mutual agreement; as, the stipulations of the allied powers to furnish each his contingent of troops.

nder Anchor, and Cable. -- Stream ice, blocks of ice floating in a mass together in some definite direction. -- Stream tin, particles or masses of tin ore found in alluvial ground; -- so called because a stream of water is the principal agent used in separating the ore from the sand and gravel. -- Stream works (Corn…

Having a definite organic structure; showing differentiation of parts. The passage from a structureless state to a structured state is itself a vital process. H. Spencer.

Without a definite structure, or arrangement of parts; without organization; devoid of cells; homogeneous; as, a structureless membrane.

That which is sublime; -- with the definite article; as:

Following in time; coming or being after something else at any time, indefinitely; as, subsequent events; subsequent ages or years; a period long subsequent to the foundation of Rome.

A quantity of money or currency; any amount, indefinitely; as, a sum of money; a small sum, or a large sum. "The sum of forty pound." Chaucer. With a great sum obtained I this freedom. Acts xxii. 28.

ies a vacant pulpit. Stated supply (Eccl.), a clergyman employed to supply a pulpit for a definite time, but not settled as a pastor. [U.S.] -- Supply and demand. (Polit. Econ.) "Demand means the quantity of a given article which would be taken at a given price. Supply means the quantity of that article which could be…

y a formal vote, the consideration of (a bill, motion, or the like) till called for, or indefinitely.

Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount. Ma task of servile toil. Milton. Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close. Longfellow.

A system of apparatus for electric signals providing for automatic transmission of a definite number of different signals or calls, as in connection with hotel annunciators.

In universities, schools, etc., a definite continuous period during which instruction is regularly given to students; as, the school year is divided into three terms.