# defines (verb)

To make a pattern that establishes the boundary of what a thing is by how it differs from others.

- Computed level: L6 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: all  ·  Arena: abstraction

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [pattern](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pattern.regularity), [boundary](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boundary.limit), [difference](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-difference.relation), [structure](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-structure.arrangement), [establishes](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-establishes.verb), [make](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-make.verb), [others](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-others.distinct-entities)

**Through:** Pattern and structure together form a boundary through difference, specifying what is in and what is out.

**Novel properties:**
- distinct identity
- relational boundary
- persistent definition

## Examples
- The International Prototype Kilogram defined mass for 130 years until the Planck constant took over in 2019. *(physics)*
- The U.S. Supreme Court's 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision defined racial segregation as constitutional under 'separate but equal'. *(institutions)*
- Python uses significant whitespace to define code blocks, distinguishing it from curly-brace languages like C++. *(computing)*

## Used by
- [holes](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-holes.empty-regions) (L7)
- [pride](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pride.state) (L15)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-defines.verb*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-defines.verb.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*