episode

Episode most generally refers to a specific incident in a continuous series of events, an occurrence of a recurring event, or an installment or entry in a series.

Episode is perhaps most popularly used in a more specific way to refer to one of the parts that a TV series is divided into, as in I’ve seen every single episode of The Office. Such episodes are often like chapters of a larger story, though each one may be unrelated other than being part of the same series. This sense of the word can also be applied to other forms of entertainment, especially ones you watch or listen to, such as podcasts, radio shows, or video series. (In contrast, parts in a periodical series, such as a comic book, aren’t commonly called episodes but are instead referred to with other terms, such as issue or edition.)

More generally, episode can refer to a particular part of a story or narrative, such as a scene or sequence within a novel.

In the context of real life, the word episode can refer to a specific period in a person’s life, especially one that’s distinct, such as due to being a life-changing or defining experience, as in The year that we moved to a new city was one of the particularly memorable episodes of my childhood. This sense of episode means something like a chapter in the story of someone’s life.

The word can also refer to an instance of experiencing something that’s recurring, such as a medical or mental health issue, as in The patient has a history of depressive episodes.

The adjective episodic can be used to describe things that occur occasionally or things that are divided into episodes.

Example: The show’s final episode is scheduled to air on Thursday night.

The first records of the word episode come from the 1670s. It comes from the Greek epeisódion, meaning “addition” or “parenthetic narrative.” In the context of ancient Greek drama, the word episode refers to one of the particular sections or interludes that occur between other parts of the play. The word epeisodion means the same thing and is based on the same root.

While the term episode in terms of entertainment is most commonly used to refer to an installment of a TV show, it’s sometimes used to refer to one movie in a series. Perhaps the most well-known example of this is in the Star Wars franchise, in which each movie in the main sequence of films is subtitled with its episode number, such as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

The word episode has been blended into new terms that refer to certain kinds of episodes, such as webisode (an episode of a web series), minisode (a short episode), and extrasode (a bonus episode).

What are some other forms related to episode? 

• episodic (adjective)

What are some synonyms for episode?

• installment
• chapter
• event
• incident

What are some words that share a root or word element with episode? 

• webisode
• minisode
• extrasode
• epeisodion

What are some words that often get used in discussing episode?

• series
• show
• TV
• podcast
• best
• worst
• final
• last
• finale
• every
• special
• medical

Episode is most commonly used to refer to installments of things like TV shows and podcasts.

"One more episode." –You, lying straight to your own face

— Netflix (@netflix) August 14, 2017

Finally finished The Queen's Gambit; simply put, it was fantastic. Definitely drew my attention in, in every episode.

The only con is that I have to find something new to watch.

— Karma (@itmeKarma) January 15, 2021

A dark episode in the history of a great game. https://t.co/ydkEgET2bs

— Garrett Wymer (@GarrettWKYT) August 3, 2015

Is episode used correctly in the following sentence? 

The tragedy is one of the darkest episodes in the history of this nation.