noun

entity

EN-tuh-tee/ˈentəti/

Something that exists or is treated as a separate unit.

Each separate object forms an entity, including the clock with its connected parts.

Three visibly distinct entities—a whole apple, a living snail, and an assembled mechanical alarm clock—shown separately in one compact comparison.

Etymology

Ens names a thing that is, but entity originally expressed being in the abstract. Its meaning later shifted to an individual thing that exists, treated as a distinct unit.

In context

UC Berkeley81:34

one relevant entity, one relevant memory-connected entity per user rather than per conversation. And maybe then these entities can persist the end, can survive the end of a conversation.

Philosopher David Chalmers asks: When we talk to AI, what are we talking to?

More examples

The law treats the nonprofit as a legal entity.
In this database, each customer is a distinct entity.
The two departments now operate as one entity.

Forms

entity · entities

Similar words

unit: Emphasizes something counted or organized as one whole.
object: Usually names a physical thing rather than an organization.