Definition
A low-power VOR navigation station intended for use within approximately 25 nautical miles of the facility and at altitudes from 1,000 feet AGL up to 12,000 feet AGL. Terminal VORs are typically located on or near an airport and are used primarily for instrument approaches, departures, and arrivals at that airport rather than for long-range enroute navigation.
Plain English
A short-range VOR station, usually at an airport, that pilots use mainly for getting in and out of that airport rather than for long cross-country flights.
Context Anchor
Seen on navigation charts, approach procedures, and airport-area navigation discussions involving VOR use near an airport.
Derivation
Terminal' comes from the Latin terminus, meaning 'end' or 'boundary.' In aviation, a 'terminal' area is the airspace at the ends of a flight — around the departure and arrival airports — so a Terminal VOR is one that serves that local airport area rather than the long stretch in between.
Why Pilots Care
Using a Terminal VOR outside its published service volume — too far away or too high — can give unreliable signals. Knowing the class of VOR you are tuning tells you how much you can trust it for navigation and approaches.
Analogy
Think of it like a local radio station for navigation: useful close to town, but not something you count on far away.
Intuition Check
Terminal does not mean an airport building here. It means the area of flight activity close to an airport.
Example Sentence 1
The approach plate showed a Terminal VOR on the field, which they used to fly the inbound course to the runway.
Example Sentence 2
Because the enroute VOR was out of range, the crew switched to the Terminal VOR for the last twenty miles.