Learner's definition of CONTEXT. [count, noncount] 1. : the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning. To really know a word, you must be able to use it in context. [=in a sentence with other words] [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples. ◊ If the words that someone has said are taken or quoted out of context, they are repeated without explaining the situation in which they were said so that their meaning is changed. When taken out of context, his comments sound cruel, but he was really only joking.