scalar
Americanadjective
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representable by position on a scale or line; having only magnitude.
a scalar variable.
-
of, relating to, or utilizing a scalar.
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ladderlike in arrangement or organization; graduated.
a scalar structure for promoting personnel.
noun
noun
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a quantity, such as time or temperature, that has magnitude but not direction Compare vector tensor pseudoscalar pseudovector
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maths an element of a field associated with a vector space
adjective
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A quantity, such as mass, length, or speed, whose only property is magnitude; a number.
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Compare vector
Etymology
Origin of scalar
First recorded in 1650–60, scalar is from the Latin word scālāris of a ladder. See scale 3, -ar 1
Vocabulary lists containing scalar
Physics - High School
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - High School
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Precalculus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2018, a white paper outlining the stablecoin proposal reached the desk of Cyrus Younessi, an analyst for the crypto investment firm Scalar Capital.
From New York Times • May 18, 2022
Scalar line integrals are integrals of a scalar function over a curve in a plane or in space.
From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016
Scalar line integrals can be used to calculate the mass of a wire; vector line integrals can be used to calculate the work done on a particle traveling through a field.
From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016
Scholars can use Scalar to publish their work and have it examined by their academic peers in ways that, according to the project’s website, “make scholarly publishing…as easy as blogging.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2015
At at a physics conference in March to discuss the discovery of the Higgs, researchers were encouraged to refer to the particle as the "SM Scalar Boson".
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
