exponential function

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. the function y = ex .

2. any function of the form y = bax , where a and b are positive constants.

3. any function in which a variable appears as an exponent and may also appear as a base, as y = x 2x .

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Etymology

Origin of exponential function

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

At wide-open throttle, the raunchiness doesn’t come in wild quanta but in one smoothly linear, incredibly steep exponential function, with no interval for tactility and feedback.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

The horizontal asymptote of an exponential function tells us the limit of the function’s values as the independent variable gets either extremely large or extremely small.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Recall that an exponential function is any equation written in the form such that and are positive numbers and Any positive number can be written as for some value of .

From Textbooks • Sep. 23, 2020

This is the shape we expect from an exponential function where a > 1.

From Textbooks • May 6, 2020

The time-binding energies as well as “life” follow the same type of exponential function.

From Manhood of Humanity. by Korzybski, Alfred