geometric progression

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. a sequence of terms in which the ratio between any two successive terms is the same, as the progression 1, 3, 9, 27, 81 or 144, 12, 1, 1/12, 1/144.

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geometric progression British  

noun

1. a sequence of numbers, each of which differs from the succeeding one by a constant ratio, as 1, 2, 4, 8, … Compare arithmetic progression

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geometric progression Scientific  

1. A sequence of numbers in which each number is multiplied by the same factor to obtain the next number in the sequence. In a geometric progression, the ratio of any two adjacent numbers is the same. An example is 5, 25, 125, 625, … , where each number is multiplied by 5 to obtain the following number, and the ratio of any number to the next number is always 1 to 5.

2. Compare arithmetic progression

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geometric progression Cultural  

1. In mathematics, a sequence of numbers in which each number is obtained from the previous one by multiplying by a constant. For example, the sequence 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 … (in which each number is multiplied by 2 to get the next one) is a geometric progression.

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Discover More

Many processes involving growth and spreading, such as population increases, can be described as geometric progressions.

Etymology

Origin of geometric progression

First recorded in 1550–60

Example Sentences

A geometric progression is a sequence defined by a constant ratio.

From Washington Post • Feb. 12, 2019

And they also come from countless groups of candidates and political parties’ supporters, which shoot messages spread in geometric progression.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2018

This increment is the same ratio between each number and is called a geometric progression and thus the name for this probability density function.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

Serenely oblivious to the Malthusian truth that Harvard men beget sons who go to Harvard, and that a long, geometric progression of begats had already outbegotten his best efforts to catch up.

From Time Magazine Archive

I don’t know if you understand what a geometric progression is, but that is the best way to describe it.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss