function word
noun
a word, as a preposition, article, auxiliary, or pronoun, that chiefly expresses grammatical relationships, has little semantic content of its own, and belongs to a small, closed class of words whose membership is relatively fixed (distinguished from content word).
Also called
form word.
Origin of function word
First recorded in 1935–40
Words nearby function word
function,
function creep,
function key,
function shift,
function space,
function word,
functionable,
functional,
functional ,
functional analysis,
functional anatomy
British Dictionary definitions for function word
function word
noun
grammar
a word, such as the, with a particular grammatical role but little identifiable meaning
Compare content word, grammatical meaning