cardinal number
Americannoun
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cardinal numbers
plural
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Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
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Also called potency, power. Mathematics. a number or symbol analogous to the number of elements in a finite set, being identical for two sets that can be placed into one-to-one correspondence.
The cardinal number of the set a1, a2, … an is n.
noun
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Sometimes shortened to: cardinal. a number denoting quantity but not order in a set
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maths logic
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a measure of the size of a set that does not take account of the order of its members Compare natural number
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a particular number having this function
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A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order.
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Compare ordinal number
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cardinal number
First recorded in 1585–95
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.
The cardinal number 𝔡 is defined as the smallest possible size of a set of continuous functions sufficient to dominate every possible continuous function.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021
For every infinite cardinal ℵa, there is a next larger cardinal number ℵa+1.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2021
The notion of order, which is here introduced, is one which is not required in the theory of cardinal number.
From Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Where a number is expressed in terms of various denominations, a cardinal number usually begins with the largest denomination, and an ordinal number with the smallest.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various
When he first adopted this definition from Frege, he was led to make the inference that the class of all possible classes might furnish a type for a greatest cardinal number.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode
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.
