Fermat's last theorem

[fer-mahz]

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.

Fermat's last theorem

/ fɜːˈmæts /

noun

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

Fermat's last theorem

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Fermat's last theorem¹

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

Example Sentences

Whoever discovers it will be hailed forever as the genius who cracked baseball’s answer to Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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

Read more on BBC

For example, Fermat’s last theorem, which deals with solutions of the form an + bn = cn, has puzzled experts for more than 350 years.

Read more on Scientific American

Previous laureates include Andrew J. Wiles, who proved Fermat’s last theorem and is now at the University of Oxford; John F. Nash Jr., whose life was portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind”; and Karen Uhlenbeck, an emeritus professor at the University of Texas at Austin who in 2019 became the first woman to receive an Abel.

Read more on New York Times

The clock would address baseball’s most infuriating dead time — hitters wandering away from home plate during an at-bat, as though puzzling about Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Read more on Washington Post