layman's terms
16
3.7
- noun
- /ˈleɪmənz tɜrmz/
- The teacher used layman's terms when discussing the difficult subject, making it accessible for all students.
Examples
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Second, crowdfunding projects force scientists to communicate their science in layman's terms.
Blog text (8) -
We follow a very brief, very simplified explanation of how to do things in layman's terms.
Blog text (16) -
Would you give me that in layman's terms?
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Could you put that in layman's terms?
Fiction book (2002) -
To put it in layman's terms.
Fiction book (2002) -
Find someone who can communicate clearly to you in laymen's terms.
Blog text (14) -
Well, why don't you try and explain it in layman's terms?
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Please answer me in layman's terms. I'm not an intellectual, and I get easily confused. Thank you.
Blog text (26) -
In layman's terms, you have damaged the mechanism that pumps blood into the heart which has caused irreversible damage to it.
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He explained the complex scientific theory in layman's terms so everyone could understand.
Synonyms
11
4.2
Describes simple instructions for people who are new to a topic
1
3.9
Simple words people who are not experts can understand
Antonyms
How Simple
Surface Forms
Morphology
layman's + term
The phrase combines 'layman' (a non-expert) with 'terms' (words/phrasing), so its meaning — words phrased for non-experts — is directly inferable from the constituents. This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., 'in simple terms'), so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.
Etymology
Layman's terms comes from the idea of a layman, a person without special knowledge, and terms, meaning words, so it means using 'simple words' that a 'non-expert' can understand.