exponent

American  

[ik-spoh-nuhnt, ek-spoh-nuhnt] / ɪkˈspoʊ nənt, ˈɛk spoʊ nənt /

noun

exponents plural

1. a person or thing that expounds, explains, or interprets.

   an exponent of modern theory in the arts.

   Synonyms:

   promoter, proponent, champion, supporter

2. a person or thing that is a representative, advocate, type, or symbol of something.

   Lincoln is an exponent of American democracy.

   Synonyms:

   personification, embodiment

3. Mathematics. a symbol or number placed above and after another symbol or number to denote the power to which the latter is to be raised.

   The exponents of the quantities xn, 2m, y4, and 35 are, respectively, n, m, 4, and 5.

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exponent British  

/ ɪkˈspəʊnənt /

noun

1. (usually foll by of) a person or thing that acts as an advocate (of an idea, cause, etc)

2. a person or thing that explains or interprets

3. a performer or interpretive artist, esp a musician

4. Also called: power.   index.  maths a number or variable placed as a superscript to the right of another number or quantity indicating the number of times the number or quantity is to be multiplied by itself

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adjective

1. offering a declaration, explanation, or interpretation

exponent Scientific  

/ ĕk′spō′nənt,ĭk-spō′nənt /

1. A number or symbol, placed above and to the right of the expression to which it applies, that indicates the number of times the expression is used as a factor. For example, the exponent 3 in 5 ³ indicates 5 × 5 × 5; the exponent x in (a + b) ^x indicates (a + b) multiplied by itself x times.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• exponents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exponent

1575–85; < Latin expōnent- (stem of expōnēns ), present participle of expōnere to expound; see -ent

Explanation

An exponent is a person who is a big promoter of something. Are you an exponent of the four-day school and work week? You may already know the mathematical meaning of exponent: a numeric notation showing how many times a number is multiplied by itself. How did exponent come to mean a strong advocate or promoter of something? Well, its Latin ancestor was a verb meaning "to put forth" and it's easy to see how this could be generalized to refer to people. After all, aren't you an exponent of freedom of expression?

Example Sentences

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Harri Kytömaa, an engineer at consulting firm Exponent who investigates industrial disasters, referring to the scale of the damage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Cruise also said in the blog post that Exponent, an independent engineering firm previously hired to perform a technical root cause analysis of the Oct.

From Reuters • Nov. 15, 2023

A full-page ad ran in Jewish Exponent, which is based in the Philadelphia area.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2023

“A lot of things had to work perfectly for this to happen,” said Vijay K. Saraf, a principal engineer at Exponent.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2022

She can win a race now 'n' then when things break right fur her, but the Exponent hoss'll win anyway—on three legs if he has to.

From Blister Jones by Hambridge, Jay

Related Words

• interpreter
• proponent