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function

[fuhngk-shuh n]
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noun
  1. the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role.
  2. any ceremonious public or social gathering or occasion.
  3. a factor related to or dependent upon other factors: Price is a function of supply and demand.
  4. Mathematics.
    1. Also called correspondence, map, mapping, transformation.a relation between two sets in which one element of the second set is assigned to each element of the first set, as the expression y = x2; operator.
    2. Also called multiple-value function.a relation between two sets in which two or more elements of the second set are assigned to each element of the first set, as y2 = x2, which assigns to every x the two values y = +x and y = −x.
    3. a set of ordered pairs in which none of the first elements of the pairs appears twice.
  5. Geometry.
    1. a formula expressing a relation between the angles of a triangle and its sides, as sine or cosine.
    2. hyperbolic function.
  6. Grammar.
    1. the grammatical role a linguistic form has or the position it occupies in a particular construction.
    2. the grammatical roles or the positions of a linguistic form or form class collectively.
  7. Sociology. the contribution made by a sociocultural phenomenon to an ongoing social system.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to perform a specified action or activity; work; operate: The computer isn't functioning now. He rarely functions before noon.
  2. to have or exercise a function; serve: In earlier English the present tense often functioned as a future. This orange crate can function as a chair.
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Origin of function

1525–35; < Latin functiōn- (stem of functiō) a performance, execution, equivalent to funct(us) (past participle of fungī) performed, executed + -iōn- -ion
Related formsin·ter·func·tion, adjectivemul·ti·func·tion, adjectivenon·func·tion·ing, adjectiveo·ver·func·tion·ing, adjectivepre·func·tion, nounre·func·tion, verb (used without object)sub·func·tion, nounsu·per·func·tion, nounun·func·tion·ing, adjectivewell-func·tion·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

functionalworkingrunninggoingoperatingoperativedutytaskbehavioractivityactionperformanceoperationaluseful

Examples from the Web for functioning

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It permeates them all, and renders possible all life activity and functioning.

    The Human Aura

    Swami Panchadasi

  • Yet the core, or the vital, functioning part of a concept is its meaning.

    The Mind and Its Education

    George Herbert Betts

  • Of the five senses, four have their functioning in the face-region.

  • He dwelt precisely and at length upon the functioning of everything he had seen.

    Spacehounds of IPC

    Edward Elmer Smith

  • Little areas of brightness, of functioning; then dimness, then the deep.

    Christmas

    Zona Gale

British Dictionary definitions for functioning

function

noun
  1. the natural action or intended purpose of a person or thing in a specific rolethe function of a hammer is to hit nails into wood
  2. an official or formal social gathering or ceremony
  3. a factor dependent upon another or other factorsthe length of the flight is a function of the weather
  4. Also called: map, mapping maths logic a relation between two sets that associates a unique element (the value) of the second (the range) with each element (the argument) of the first (the domain): a many-one relation. Symbol: f(x) The value of f(x) for x = 2 is f(2)
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verb (intr)
  1. to operate or perform as specified; work properly
  2. (foll by as) to perform the action or role (of something or someone else)a coin may function as a screwdriver
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Derived Formsfunctionless, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Latin functiō, from fungī to perform, discharge
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

Word Origin and History for functioning

function

n.

1530s, "proper work or purpose," from Middle French fonction (16c.) and directly from Latin functionem (nominative functio) "performance, execution," noun of action from functus, past participle of fungi "perform, execute, discharge," from PIE root *bheug- (2) "to use, enjoy" (see brook (v.)). Use in mathematics probably begun by Leibnitz (1692).

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function

v.

1856, from function (n.). Related: Functioned; functioning.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
functioning in Medicine

function

(fŭngk′shən)
n.
  1. The physiological property or the special action of an organ or body part.
  2. Something closely related to another thing and dependent on it for its existence, value, or significance, such as growth resulting from nutrition.
  3. A mathematical variable so related to another that for each value assumed by one there is a value determined for the other.
  4. A rule of correspondence between two sets such that there is a unique element in the second set assigned to each element in the first set.
  5. The general properties of a substance, depending on its chemical character and relation to other substances, that provide the basis upon which it may be grouped as among acids or bases.
  6. A particular reactive grouping in a molecule.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
functioning in Science

function

[fŭngk′shən]
  1. A relationship between two sets that matches each member of the first set with a unique member of the second set. Functions are often expressed as an equation, such as y = x + 5, meaning that y is a function of x such that for any value of x, the value of y will be 5 greater than x.
  2. A quantity whose value depends on the value given to one or more related quantities. For example, the area of a square is a function of the length of its sides.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
functioning in Culture

function

In mathematics, a quantity whose value is determined by the value of some other quantity. For example, “The yield of this field is a function of the amount of fertilizer applied” means that a given amount of fertilizer will yield an amount of whatever crop is growing.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.