arithmetic
Americannoun
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arithmetics
plural
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the method or process of computation with figures: the most elementary branch of mathematics.
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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.
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a book on this subject.
adjective
noun
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the branch of mathematics concerned with numerical calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
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one or more calculations involving numerical operations
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knowledge of or skill in using arithmetic
his arithmetic is good
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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arithmeticiannoun
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nonarithmeticadjective
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nonarithmeticaladjective
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unarithmeticaladjective
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arithmeticallyadverb
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nonarithmeticallyadverb
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unarithmeticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of arithmetic
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
Explanation
Arithmetic is another word for math, specifically the areas of math having to do with numbers and calculating. If you're good at adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying, then you're good at arithmetic, which is a big part of math. Arithmetic has to do with doing calculations. To answer most math problems, including almost all word problems, you need arithmetic. The most basic arithmetic is 2 plus 2, but as anyone who's ever taken algebra can tell you, it can get a lot more complicated than that.
Vocabulary lists containing arithmetic
Expressions and Equations
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Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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"Be-ers and Doers" and "My Moment of Truth"
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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.
See Examples For:
Bessent’s rough 3% math would work, according to forecasters, though exact arithmetic depends on several assumptions and targets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The star and showrunner of “Girls” is the best possible line of demarcation for “millennial art” for meta-textual and arithmetic reasons.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
For the businesses that supply props, artwork and other services, the arithmetic is simpler: Any shoot is better than none.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Add a 3% real interest rate to roughly 7% inflation generated by rapid wage growth and the arithmetic becomes uncomfortable.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Do you realize you are spending more time now reading than you used to spend on games? Do you know that your arithmetic grades are actually getting worse?”
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
The arithmetics of distance and time were not cheering either.
From Time Magazine Archive
A catalogue of the arithmetics written before the year MDCI, with a description of those in the library of G. A. Plimpton.
From The Age of the Reformation by Preserved Smith
Many of the early arithmetics were prepared after the catechism plan.
From The History of Education; educational practice and progress considered as a phase of the development and spread of western civilization by Ellwood Patterson Cubberley
Smith, of Boston, was in our department the efficient agent, we were amply supplied with various kinds of books and utensils, embracing primers, arithmetics, slates and pencils, besides a liberal allowance of reading matter.
From Reminiscences of two years with the colored troops Personal Narratives of events in the War of the Rebellion, being papers read before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society. No. 7, Second Series by Joshua M. (Joshua Melancthon) Addeman
Study arithmetics, book 7, and Mathematics and life, book 1; teacher's guidebook.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1975 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
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.
