arithmetic

[uh-rith-muh-tik, ar-ith-met-ik]

noun

1. the method or process of computation with figures: the most elementary branch of mathematics.

2. Also called theoretical arithmetic. Also called higher arithmetic,. the theory of numbers; the study of the divisibility of whole numbers, the remainders after division, etc.

3. a book on this subject.

adjective

1. Also arithmetical. of or relating to arithmetic.

arithmetic

/ əˈrɪθmətɪk /

noun

1. the branch of mathematics concerned with numerical calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

2. one or more calculations involving numerical operations

3. knowledge of or skill in using arithmetic

   his arithmetic is good

adjective

1. of, relating to, or using arithmetic

arithmetic

1. The mathematics of integers, rational numbers, real numbers, or complex numbers under the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Other Word Forms

• arithmetically adverb
• nonarithmetic adjective
• nonarithmetical adjective
• nonarithmetically adverb
• unarithmetical adjective
• unarithmetically adverb
• arithmetician noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of arithmetic¹

1200–50; < Latin arithmētica, feminine singular of arithmēticus < Greek arithmētikḗ ( téchnē ) (art, skill) of numbers, equivalent to arithmé ( ein ) to reckon + -t ( o )- verbal adjective + -ikḗ -ic; replacing Middle English arsmet ( r ) ike < Old French arismetique < Medieval Latin arismētica, with s for Late Greek th

Word History and Origins

Origin of arithmetic¹

C13: from Latin arithmētica, from Greek arithmētikē, from arithmein to count, from arithmos number

Example Sentences

A 1975 New York Times article featured educators who saw calculators as undermining “basic skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They solve an increasingly complicated arithmetic problem to unlock bitcoin, but the difficulty has been increasing faster than bitcoin prices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The administration’s suspect arithmetic is in many respects deliberately aimed at portraying some condition as better than the real numbers show.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

By turning caste into a ledger of entitlements and grievances, the census reduces politics to arithmetic - who gets how much - rather than addressing what Mr Teltumbde calls the "architecture of social injustice".

Read more on BBC

Once the consolidated government budget constraint External link begins to bind, the arithmetic of debt service, not the resolve of central bankers, will dictate the equilibrium inflation rate.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• calculation 
• computation