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Terms & Acronyms
Use this search to retrieve specific terms or acronyms and their definitions.
This search allows the user to search all approved terms and acronyms in the system. Users may select the type of search (begins with, contains, exact match).
From the Search Results page, the user may click on a link to go directly to the vocabulary containing the term.
Note: Not all terms and acronyms within the system have definitions. Acronyms are treated as terms within the system.
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Vocabulary Catalog
The Vocabulary Catalog enables users to find and retrieve an entire vocabulary, such as a glossary or an acronym list.
A glossary is comprised of terms and associated definitions pertaining to a particular subject or field.
An acronym list provides the meaning of acronyms related to a particular subject of field.
The Vocabulary Catalog attempts to provide a comprehensive list of EPA vocabularies. Many of the vocabularies in the catalog are maintained within Terminology Services, while others are not. Those that are maintained within Terminology Services are designated with a 
. Those that are not available within Terminology Services, we link to the appropriate EPA resource where that vocabulary can be found.
Users may search vocabularies by topic or by the organization who owns the vocabulary.
The Search Results page displays all glossaries and acronym lists that match the search results. Clicking on the glossary or acronym list will launch to that glossary or acronym lists.
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Web Taxonomy
A taxonomy is an ordered and systematic classification terms whose components are ranked into level of subordination according to specific rules.
This search provides a drop down menu for all facets within EPA’s Web Taxonomy.
- Full Hierarchy with Definitions - Use this option to find and retrieve if definitions are available.
- Full Hierarchy without Definitions - Use this option to find and retrieve in an indented hierarchical order.
- Expandable Hierarchy - Use this to find and retrieve words in a flat list that can be expanded by clicking into broader and narrower hierarchies.
The Web Taxonomy Search Results page displays facet results in a hierarchical view.
The Web Taxonomy Term Location Search Results show a breadcrumb view of where a term is located within a facet’s hierarchy. It will also display related terms.
The search results will be presented in a hierarchy that can be expanded by clicking on the “+” next to the word.
Some terms in the Web Taxonomy are already defined. EPA is working to add definitions to undefined terms in the Web Taxonomy.
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Exporting Search Results
The user has the option to export the results of any search in the following file types:
- RTF Rich Text Format
- XML eXtensible Markup Language
- HTML Hyper Text Markup language
- PDF Portable Document Format
- SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
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