The Definition Queries tab on the Feature Display Settings dialog box provides you with a way to determine which features appear on a map or chart. The queries included in the set indicate what features display on the map or chart.
When you create definition query sets, you can create queries that work across several feature classes or individual queries for each feature layer. Similar definition queries are used on multiple maps or charts. By storing the definition query sets, you can recall, apply, modify, and save query sets for multiple layers. You do not have to manually create definition queries for all feature layers and apply new queries to additional feature layers in different maps or charts. This means that your set can include several queries for individual feature layers or a single query that includes all feature layers in your map.