calculus

American  

[kal-kyuh-luhs] / ˈkæl kjə ləs /

noun

• calculi,
  plural
• calculuses
  plural

1. Mathematics. a method of calculation, especially one of several highly systematic methods of treating problems by a special system of algebraic notations, as differential or integral calculus.

2. Pathology. a stone, or concretion, formed in the gallbladder, kidneys, or other parts of the body.

3. Also called tartar.  Dentistry. a hard, yellowish to brownish-black deposit on teeth formed largely through the mineralization of dead bacteria in dental plaques by the calcium salts in salivary secretions and subgingival transudates.

4. calculation; estimation or computation.

   the calculus of political appeal.

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calculus British  

/ ˈkælkjʊləs /

noun

1. a branch of mathematics, developed independently by Newton and Leibniz. Both differential calculus and integral calculus are concerned with the effect on a function of an infinitesimal change in the independent variable as it tends to zero

2. any mathematical system of calculation involving the use of symbols

3. logic an uninterpreted formal system Compare formal language

4. pathol a stonelike concretion of minerals and salts found in ducts or hollow organs of the body

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calculus Scientific  

/ kăl′kyə-ləs /

• calculi
  plural

1. The branch of mathematics that deals with limits and the differentiation and integration of functions of one or more variables.

2. See more at calculus of variations differential calculus integral calculus

3. A solid mass, usually composed of inorganic material, formed in a cavity or tissue of the body. Calculi are most commonly found in the gallbladder, kidney, or urinary bladder.

4. Also called stone

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calculus Cultural  

1. The branch of mathematics, usually studied after algebra, that provides a natural method for describing gradual change.

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Discover More

Most modern sciences use calculus.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• calculi
  plural
• calculuses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of calculus

1610–20; < Latin: pebble, small stone (used in reckoning), equivalent to calc- (stem of calx stone) + -ulus -ule

Explanation

Calculus is a way of using math to study changes in a system. Moral calculus, on the other hand, is a way of measuring morals and ethics, like choosing the lesser of two evils. After an apple bonked him on the head, Newton used calculus to fine-tune his Law of Gravity. Don’t break that law, or you’ll fall right off the planet. Today, if you take a calculus class, you’ve probably already taken geometry and trigonometry. Well done. You’ll measure changes between infinitesimally small points or the area of a curve. In the medical world, a calculus is a hard, crusty mass like a kidney stone; or tartar on a tooth. In Latin, calculus means "small pebble used for counting."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

calculus calculi calculuses

To this day, his calculus for greenlighting any major production seems to come down to how vastly one’s star power burns.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Zietz tells me he’d rather endure criticism than be dull, but the calculus is different for other leaders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

So right off the bat, that changes the calculus in your question.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Although they lived in many of the same environments as anatomically modern humans, their dental calculus contained considerably more insect DNA.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

I help in the calculus forum for 30 minutes, and then I check out the trigonometry page.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz both “died in excruciating pain while suffering from calculi — a bladder stone for Newton, a kidney stone for Leibniz”.

From Nature ● Apr. 4, 2019

Midway through Infinite Powers, Steven Strogatz writes that Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz both “died in excruciating pain while suffering from calculi — a bladder stone for Newton, a kidney stone for Leibniz”.

From Nature ● Apr. 1, 2019

These should not be set down as biliary calculi without further developments.

From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh

Johann Kentmann, a physician of Torgau, devoted a great deal of attention to the study of the formation of all kinds of calculi in human beings, biliary, salivary and intestinal.

From The Century of Columbus by James J. Walsh

Nature, I said to myself, forms calculi by uniting organic elements, by crystallizing them, and by cementing them with vesical mucus.

From On the cattle plague: or, Contagious typhus in horned cattle. Its history, origin, description, and treatment by Honor? Bourguignon

“Do I think I underestimated some factors and overestimated some others? Sure. Do I think that there were calculations and calculuses that I made? Yes,” Porter went on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2024

Related Words

• algebra
• calculation
• geometry
• math