Fermat's last theorem

American  

[fer-mahz] / fɛrˈmɑz /

noun

Mathematics.

1. the unproved theorem that the equation xn + yn = zn has no solution for x, y, z nonzero integers when n is greater than 2.

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Fermat's last theorem British  

/ fɜːˈmæts /

noun

1. (in number theory) the hypothesis that the equation xn + yn = zn has no integral solutions for n greater than two

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Fermat's last theorem Scientific  

/ fĕr-mäz′ /

1. A theorem stating that the equation a ⁿ + b ⁿ = c ⁿ has no solution if a, b, and c are positive integers and if n is an integer greater than 2. The theorem was first stated by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat around 1630, but not proved until 1994.

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Etymology

Origin of Fermat's last theorem

First recorded in 1860–65; named after P. de Fermat

Example Sentences

The meaning of life, the laws of general relativity, quantum mechanics, Fermat's last theorem.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025

Fermat’s last theorem, a riddle put forward by one of history’s great mathematicians, had baffled experts for more than 300 years.

From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2022

British number theorist Andrew Wiles has received the 2016 Abel Prize for his solution to Fermat’s last theorem — a problem that stumped some of the world’s greatest minds for three and a half centuries.

From Nature • Mar. 14, 2016

It was discovered by Pierre Fermat, the same French mathematician who came up with the famous Fermat’s last theorem.

From Slate • Jun. 3, 2013

A case in point was Wiles’s 200-page proof of Fermat’s last theorem, which was too dense for most mathematicians to evaluate.

From Scientific American • Aug. 24, 2012