group theory

American  

noun

1. the branch of mathematics that deals with the structure of mathematical groups and mappings between them.

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group theory Scientific  

1. The branch of mathematics concerned with groups and the description of their properties.

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Etymology

Origin of group theory

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

In the mathematical study of symmetry, or group theory, one such number—important in string theory—is fittingly named “the monster group”: 808,017,424,794,512,875,886,459,904,961,710,757,005,754,368,000,000,000.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

In some areas, like group theory or combinatorics, this link is very specific and direct.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2020

John Horton Conway was one of the most versatile mathematicians of the past century, who made influential contributions to group theory, analysis, topology, number theory, geometry, algebra and combinatorial game theory.

From Nature • May 22, 2020

Dr. Conway’s boundless curiosity produced profound contributions to number theory, game theory, coding theory, group theory, knot theory, topology, probability theory, algebra, analysis, combinatorics and more.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2020

Quite lately, however, there are signs that group theory will soon prove to be of importance for the definition of some of the fundamental concepts of that most refractory branch of philosophical inquiry, æsthetics.

From International Congress of Arts and Science, Volume I Philosophy and Metaphysics by Various