characteristic function

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noun Mathematics.

a function defined on a given set, having value 1 for every element of the set and value 0 for every element not contained in the set.

characteristic polynomial.

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Origin of characteristic function

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby characteristic function

characterful, character generator, characteristic, characteristic curve, characteristic equation, characteristic function, characteristic polynomial, characteristic root, characteristics, characteristic vector, characteristic velocity

How to use characteristic function in a sentence

She said the defining characteristic of her husband was his sensitivity.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the copper performs another important function: working as a catalyst in the distillation process.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters||December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The iPad was an even bigger hit, especially as it had a new function that allowed him to play the drawing back.
The Many Lives of Artist David Hockney|William O’Connor|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He wears his characteristic white shalwar kameez with a tattered gray waistcoat.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Openness might be a function of sexuality and gender, as well.
Coming Out Kinky to Your Doctor, in Black and Blue|Heather Boerner|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fibrinous casts are characteristic of fibrinous bronchitis, but may also be found in diphtheria of the smaller bronchi.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Most characteristic is the presence of Curschmann's spirals, Charcot-Leyden crystals, and eosinophilic leukocytes.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
When pneumonia occurs during the course of a chronic bronchitis, the characteristic rusty red sputum may not appear.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for characteristic function

characteristic function

noun

maths a function that assigns the value 1 to the members of a given set and the value 0 to its nonmembers

statistics a function derived from the probability distribution function that enables the distribution of the sum of given random variables to be analysed

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