arithmetic
Americannoun
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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.
-
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
- arithmetically adverb
- arithmetician noun
- nonarithmetic adjective
- nonarithmetical adjective
- nonarithmetically adverb
- unarithmetical adjective
- unarithmetically adverb
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
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.
A complex bit of annual budget arithmetic comes from forecast error.
From BBC
An avid numerologist, in 1987, he issued new currency in denominations of nine -- a digit considered auspicious, but bewildering shoppers with mental arithmetic.
From Barron's
Let’s start with the plain arithmetic of this proposal.
From Los Angeles Times
“The outlook for the next two years is, at its core, a matter of basic arithmetic,” she wrote.
From Barron's
“The outlook for the next two years is, at its core, a matter of basic arithmetic,” she wrote.
From Barron's
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.
