algebra
Americannoun
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the branch of mathematics that deals with general statements of relations, utilizing letters and other symbols to represent specific sets of numbers, values, vectors, etc., in the description of such relations.
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any of several algebraic systems, especially a ring in which elements can be multiplied by real or complex numbers linear algebra as well as by other elements of the ring.
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any special system of notation adapted to the study of a special system of relationship.
algebra of classes.
noun
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a branch of mathematics in which arithmetical operations and relationships are generalized by using alphabetic symbols to represent unknown numbers or members of specified sets of numbers
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the branch of mathematics dealing with more abstract formal structures, such as sets, groups, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of algebra
1535–45; < Medieval Latin < Arabic al-jabr literally, restoration
Explanation
If the math equation you're doing has letters or other symbols that stand for numbers, you're likely doing algebra. You probably took your first algebra class early in your high school years. The noun algebra comes from Arabic word al jebr, meaning "reunion of broken parts," which appeared in the title of mathematician al-Khwarizmi's famous book on equations. In algebra you use basic arithmetic like addition and subtraction, but the quantities you're working with are often unknown — that's why they're represented by letters. You might remember solving algebra equations that look like this: a(b + c) = ab + ac. The letters a, b, and c all represent a number.
Vocabulary lists containing algebra
English Words Derived from Arabic
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Expressions and Equations
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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:
He taught algebra at a Boyle Heights middle school and a Watts high school before joining Hackman in 2018, where he’s worked on multibillion-dollar projects transforming legacy studio lots for one of Hollywood’s largest landlords.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
“I wasn’t that crazy about algebra, and I did not fully master it, but geometry was something that just came naturally to me,” she wrote in a 2020 memoir, “It Began With a Dream.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Despite leaving school at a young age and initially finding terms like "decimals" and "algebra" intimidating, Mr Elsom is said to have quite a talent for working with figures.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
Feynman even helped him with his algebra homework, he recalled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
He looked up from his notebook and the open algebra textbook before him.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
In 1984, while working at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Jones came across some formulas that his nested algebras satisfied.
From Nature ● Sep. 28, 2020
Jones’s speciality, operator algebras, provided a powerful tool in the study of knots.
From Nature ● Sep. 28, 2020
One result, now known as the Jones index theorem, showed that when these algebras are nested within one another, their relative sizes conform to precise but enigmatic numerical ratios.
From Nature ● Sep. 28, 2020
Borcherds’ discovery touched off a revolution in pure mathematics, leading to a new field known as generalized Kac-Moody algebras.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 7, 2015
Somehow he had known his boys better when they had all muddled together as one family, and algebras lay strewn upon the drawing room chairs.
From The Longest Journey by Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan)
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.
