arithmetic

[ noun uh-rith-muh-tik; adjective ar-ith-met-ik ]

/ noun əˈrɪθ mə tɪk; adjective ˌær ɪθˈmɛt ɪk /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for arithmetic on Thesaurus.com

noun

the method or process of computation with figures: the most elementary branch of mathematics.

Also called higher arithmetic, theoretical arithmetic. the theory of numbers; the study of the divisibility of whole numbers, the remainders after division, etc.

a book on this subject.

adjective ar·ith·met·ic

[ar-ith-met-ik] /ˌær ɪθˈmɛt ɪk/

Also ar·ith·met·i·cal. of or relating to arithmetic.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

OTHER WORDS FROM arithmetic

ar·ith·met·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·ar·ith·met·ic, adjectivenon·ar·ith·met·i·cal, adjectivenon·ar·ith·met·i·cal·ly, adverb

un·ar·ith·met·i·cal, adjectiveun·ar·ith·met·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby arithmetic

Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, Aristotle's lantern, aristotype, arith., arithmancy, arithmetic, arithmetician, arithmetic mean, arithmetic progression, -arium, Arius

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use arithmetic in a sentence

After training, word2vec’s embeddings appeared to capture interesting semantic relationships between words that could be revealed through simple arithmetic operations on the vectors.
Welcome to the Next Level of Bullshit - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Raphaël Millière|September 9, 2020|Nautilus
These are tropes that mathematicians like to use, and I think they’re very alienating to people who, for one reason or other, did not learn about modular arithmetic in kindergarten.
Conducting the Mathematical Orchestra From the Middle|Rachel Crowell|September 2, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Roth was able to show that after a finite number of such distillations, you have a set so dense that it must contain arithmetic progressions.
Landmark Math Proof Clears Hurdle in Top Erdős Conjecture|Erica Klarreich|August 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
You could, for example, walk down the number line and keep every number that doesn’t complete an arithmetic progression.
Landmark Math Proof Clears Hurdle in Top Erdős Conjecture|Erica Klarreich|August 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine

You might wonder, though, if there are significantly denser number sets that still avoid arithmetic progressions.
Landmark Math Proof Clears Hurdle in Top Erdős Conjecture|Erica Klarreich|August 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Anything with the Count (Count von Count if you're inclined to be formal) taught numbers and basic arithmetic through songs.
‘Sesame Street’ Is Middle-Aged and Awesome|Emily Shire|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The J-K shooting was simple enough, in that it was a matter of arithmetic logic that one of them was telling the truth.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
NEW DELHI, India — Narendra Modi is to be the new prime minister of India, and the arithmetic of his victory is stunning.
Modi Crushes Gandhi in India’s Election Landslide|Tunku Varadarajan|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Well, a simple arithmetic count of the “top 100” reveals that there were only 75 books!
Why David Bowie’s Top 100 Books List Had Only 75 Books|Thomas Flynn|October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“The president has promised to change the arithmetic,” says Rothenberg.
Obama Could Win in 2014 Midterms by Losing Legislative Battles Now|Eleanor Clift|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It fell into the three more or less isolated subjects of arithmetic, algebra and Euclid.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Up to this I had always imagined that I disliked everything in the shape of arithmetic.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
The third introduces a man in old Colburn's Arithmetic, driving his sheep or geese to market.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
He heard the arithmetic class reciting and learned that only things of the same denomination can be subtracted from each other.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Suppose you send her up, Flora—you must want to go and draw or practice, and she may do her arithmetic here, or read to me.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for arithmetic

arithmetic

/ (əˈrɪθmətɪk) /

noun

the branch of mathematics concerned with numerical calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

one or more calculations involving numerical operations

knowledge of or skill in using arithmetichis arithmetic is good

adjective (ˌærɪθˈmɛtɪk) ˌarith'metical

of, relating to, or using arithmetic

Derived forms of arithmetic

arithmetically, adverbarithmetician, noun

Word Origin for arithmetic

C13: from Latin arithmētica, from Greek arithmētikē, from arithmein to count, from arithmos number

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for arithmetic

arithmetic

[ ə-rĭth′mĭ-tĭk ]

The mathematics of integers, rational numbers, real numbers, or complex numbers under the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

arithmetic

Origin of arithmetic

OTHER WORDS FROM arithmetic

Words nearby arithmetic

Words related to arithmetic

How to use arithmetic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for arithmetic

Derived forms of arithmetic

Word Origin for arithmetic

Scientific definitions for arithmetic