imaginary part
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of imaginary part
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the mathematical description of a quantum state, the real part represents the amplitude, while the imaginary part represents the phase.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Phoenix was imaginary, part of a 2009 government preparation exercise for a killer hurricane dubbed Project Phoenix — an exercise updated in 2020 focusing on small business recovery.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
We call a the real part and b the imaginary part.
From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020
A complex number is expressed in standard form when written where is the real part and is the imaginary part.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
The horizontal axis represents the real part of the complex number, while the vertical axis represents the imaginary part.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
