complex number

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noun

a mathematical expression (a + bi) in which a and b are real numbers and i2 = −1.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of complex number

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby complex number

complexion, complexioned, complexionless, complexity, complexity theory, complex number, complexometric titration, complexometry, complexone, complex plane, complex salt

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

How to use complex number in a sentence

John’s key insight was to use complex numbers, which can be added like vectors.
Can You Zoom Around The Race Track?|Zach Wissner-Gross|August 6, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
If we represent the second link as the complex number z, then the third link was z2, the fourth link was z3, and so on.
Can You Zoom Around The Race Track?|Zach Wissner-Gross|August 6, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
At this point, many readers caught on to the clue from the beginning — “hopefully not too complex” was in fact suggesting that you explore complex numbers.
Are You Smarter Than A Fourth-Grader?|Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com)|May 14, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Go ahead — pick a value for k and raise that complex number to the seventh power.
Are You Smarter Than A Fourth-Grader?|Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com)|May 14, 2021|FiveThirtyEight

Provided that quantum mechanics is correct—an assumption few would quibble with—the team’s argument essentially guarantees that complex numbers are an unavoidable part of our description of the physical universe.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through March 13)|Singularity Hub Staff|March 13, 2021|Singularity Hub

British Dictionary definitions for complex number

complex number

noun

any number of the form a + i b, where a and b are real numbers and i = √–1See number (def. 1)

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 complex number

complex number

[ kŏm′plĕks′ ]

A number that can be expressed in terms of i (the square root of -1). Mathematically, such a number can be written a + bi, where a and b are real numbers. An example is 4 + 5i.