annotation

noun

an·​no·​ta·​tion ˌa-nə-ˈtā-shən 

1

: a note added by way of comment or explanation

The bibliography was provided with helpful annotations.

2

: the act of annotating something

Examples of annotation in a Sentence

Without the annotations, the diagram would be hard to understand.

the author's annotation of the diagram

Recent Examples on the Web

What Did FinCEN Say About the Recent Court Developments? FinCEN issued a press release about the recent court developments which is reproduced below with some annotations. —Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024

Meet also offers a ton of annotation options, including emoji, free-draw, and shapes. —PCMAG, 12 Dec. 2024

By clicking the annotation, the user will be navigated to the search page with the results for this annotation. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Data types declared without such an annotation are implicitly made precise. —Adrian Sampson, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Sep. 2013

Word History

Etymology

see annotate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

annotation

noun

an·​no·​ta·​tion ˌan-ə-ˈtā-shən 

1

: the act of annotating

2

: a note added as a comment or explanation

Legal Definition

annotation

noun

an·​no·​ta·​tion ˌa-nə-ˈtā-shən 

1

: a note added (as to a statute) by way of comment or explanation often furnishing summaries of relevant court decisions

2

capitalized : an informational and descriptive note or essay (as about a case or legal issue) especially in American Law Reports