Fibonacci numbers

[fee-boh-nah-chee]

plural noun

Mathematics.

1. the unending sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, … where each term is defined as the sum of its two predecessors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Fibonacci numbers¹

1890–95; after Leonardo Fibonacci, 13th-century Italian mathematician

Example Sentences

Relying on numerical sequences to plot out structure and rhythm, Gubaidulina uses devices such as Fibonacci numbers to generate a series of cryptic sketches, which eventually result in a score.

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The formula appears in nautilus' spiral shells, but also in the arrangement of the planets in the solar system, whose distances align roughly with Fibonacci numbers' ratios.

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Just that thought made Emma want to start reciting reliable things to herself again: Fibonacci numbers.

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Fibonacci numbers and their cousin the golden ratio are a bit of a recreational math cliché.

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Matiyasevich showed that the Fibonacci numbers could work instead for a modified version of Robinson, Davis, and Putnam’s argument.

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