From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin general/practical/financial etc termsin general/practical/financial etc termsPARTused to show that you are describing or considering a subject in a particular way or from a particular point of viewin general/broad/simple etc terms We explain in simple terms what the treatment involves. It would be wrong to describe society purely in economic terms. The war, although successful in military terms, left the economy in ruins. What do these statistics mean in human terms?in somebody’s terms In our terms, the scheme has not been a success.in real/absolute terms (=accurate, true, or including any related changes) Rail fares have fallen 17 per cent in real terms.in relative terms (=compared with other, similar things) Students have less money in relative terms, but spend more on books. → term
Examples from the Corpus
in relative terms• The amount used on cooking is high in absolute as well as in relative terms.• This means that cats remain fertile longer than we do, in relative terms.• In this model power is seen in relative terms, hinging upon a process of bargaining and exchange.• They show in relative terms the savings in costs of production that are achieved by conversion. 