If I don’t understand a term someone uses, I never request a definition. To follow are 3 reasons:

1. A definition replaces a short story (the term being defined) with a long story (the definition). Hence, definitions lead to verbosity.
2. The terms used in the definition often are more abstract than the term being defined. This point certainly is true of genus-species type definitions.
3. One cannot define all of one’s terms. The attempt to do so leads to an infinite regress. Ergo, some primitive undefined terms always are needed. Seldom is one told what those primitive undefined terms are; so if I’m asked for a definition of term X that I’ve used, I always can say, “X is one of my primitive undefined terms.” That statement ends the definition quest.

Instead of requesting a definition of term X, I say, "Please give me a simple example of X.” Far too few folks appreciate the value of simple examples in furthering one’s understanding.