Glossary Entries

Glossary entries provide a reusable, authoritative definition of a term to support clarity, consistency, and user understanding across documentation.

Explaining key terms, acronyms, or phrases - especially across different domains (such as finance, healthcare, software development) - is essential for good documentation. Glossary entries provide clear, concise definitions that help new or non-expert users understand key concepts and contribute to clarity and consistency in language use.

User Intent

"What does this term mean in this context?"

Common Tags

  • <glossentry>: Root element.
  • <glossterm>: The term being defined.
  • <glossdef>: Definition of the term.
  • <glossBody>: Optional additional explanation or related terms.
  • <acronym>: Full form of abbreviated terms.
  • <synonyms>: Alternative terms with the same meaning.

Best Practices for Writing

  • Start definitions with the part of speech and category.
  • Avoid using the term within its own definition.
  • Keep definitions concise but complete.
  • Use examples to clarify abstract concepts.
  • Cross-reference related terms.
  • Add glossary entries as needed — if you’re defining the same term in multiple places, create a reusable entry and link to it.

Sample XML Code


<glossentry id="api">
  <glossterm>API</glossterm>
  <glossdef>
    <p>An Application Programming Interface enables systems to communicate with each other.</p>
  </glossdef>
</glossentry>