Entities
'entɪtiz
Definitions
A thing with distinct and independent existence.
'entɪtiz
Something that exists separately from other things; a being or thing with distinct existence.
The government is a distinct political entity.
💡 Simply: Imagine a single LEGO brick. It's an entity! It's one thing separate from all the other bricks. Just like a business, a country, or even a thought can be an entity—it exists on its own.
👶 For kids: Something that is its own thing, like a person, an animal, or a toy.
More Examples
Each planet in our solar system is a separate entity.
The software program processes data as individual entities.
How It's Used
"The company is a legal entity, separate from its owners."
"Philosophers debate the nature of different entities, such as abstract concepts and physical objects."
"Data entities are organized into databases to store information."
Idioms & expressions
legal entity
An organization or company that has legal rights and responsibilities, separate from its owners.
"The corporation is a legal entity and can sue or be sued."
data entity
A specific piece of information or data that is organized in a database
"In the database, each customer is represented as a data entity."
From Middle French "entité", from Medieval Latin "entitas" (being, essence), from Latin "ens", present participle of "esse" (to be).
The term 'entity' gained prominence in philosophical and legal contexts in the 17th and 18th centuries with the development of modern science and legal systems.
Memory tip
Think of something you can separate and identify – an entity is a separate being or thing.