- 1ethics [plural] moral principles that control or influence a person’s behaviour professional/business/medical ethics to draw up a code of ethics He began to question the ethics of his position. See related entries: Moral
- 2[singular] a system of moral principles or rules of behaviour a strongly defined work ethic the Protestant ethic The ethic of personal achievement is very strong in western societies. They have a very strong work ethic.
- 3 ethics [uncountable] the branch of philosophy that deals with moral principles Word Originlate Middle English (denoting ethics or moral philosophy; also used attributively): from Old French éthique, from Latin ethice, from Greek (hē) ēthikē (tekhnē) ‘(the science of) morals’, based on ēthos ‘nature, disposition’, (plural) ‘customs’.
Check pronunciation: ethic
