geometric progression

nounMathematics.

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.

Origin of geometric progression

First recorded in 1550–60

Also called geometric series.

Words Nearby geometric progression

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use geometric progression in a sentence

Industrialization, education, can be a geometric progression.
Border, Breed Nor Birth | Dallas McCord Reynolds
It came to him that this sort of thing could work like a geometric progression.
Freedom | Dallas McCord Reynolds
The intermediate figures show that the increase has been in almost geometric progression in recent years.
The Religious Persecution in France 1900-1906 | Jane Milliken Napier Brodhead
It is a problem the complexity of which grows in geometric progression as time goes on.
The Practical Values of Space Exploration | Committee on Science and Astronautics
Once that point has been reached you can move in almost a geometric progression.
Adaptation | Dallas McCord Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for geometric progression

geometric progression

noun

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

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

Scientific definitions for geometric progression

geometric progression

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. Compare arithmetic progression.

Cultural definitions for geometric progression

geometric progression

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.

Notes for geometric progression

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

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