calculus
Americannoun
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calculi,
plural
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calculuses
plural
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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.
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Pathology. a stone, or concretion, formed in the gallbladder, kidneys, or other parts of the body.
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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.
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calculation; estimation or computation.
the calculus of political appeal.
noun
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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
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any mathematical system of calculation involving the use of symbols
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logic an uninterpreted formal system Compare formal language
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pathol a stonelike concretion of minerals and salts found in ducts or hollow organs of the body
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calculi
plural
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The branch of mathematics that deals with limits and the differentiation and integration of functions of one or more variables.
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See more at calculus of variations differential calculus integral calculus
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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.
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Also called stone
Discover More
Most modern sciences use calculus.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing calculus
myPerspectives 7.2
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AB Calculus
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Calculus, List 1
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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:
And while that was certainly a part of Beyoncé’s calculus when plotting “Irreemplazable,” she has a personal attachment to Spanish music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
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
The calculus of pros and cons determines what students are willing to pay to attend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
So right off the bat, that changes the calculus in your question.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Because I party hard. All night. Every night,” Nick says.“If by ‘party,’ you mean your calculus homework.”
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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
The Gall-Bladder.—The formation of biliary calculi in the gall-bladder is the chief point of interest here.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various
Concreta, coagulated from particles agglutinated at random; as urinary and salivary calculi; tartar of wine; pumice, formed by fire; stalactite, formed by air; tophus, produced under water, as oolite.
From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by William MacGillivray
In this case the obstruction may be near the orifice of the teat or farther up, and the solid mass is not movable up and down with the same freedom as are concretions and calculi.
From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
“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
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.
