math
noun
math
1 American
[math]
/ mæθ /
noun
math
2
American
[math]
/ mæθ /
noun
British Dialect.
-
a mowing; a leveling or cutting down of grass, grain, etc., with a mowing machine or scythe.
-
the crop mowed.
math
3
American
[muhth]
/ mʌθ /
Also
matha
noun
math.
4
American
abbreviation
-
mathematical.
-
mathematician.
-
mathematics.
math
1
British
/ mæθ /
noun
math.
2
British
abbreviation
Etymology
Origin of math1
First recorded in 1845–50; by shortening
Origin of math2
First recorded before 900; Middle English (bede)-mad, a kind of manorial duty to mow for one's lord, Old English mǣth “mowing, hay harvest”; cognate with German Mahd, Old Frisian mēth, Old Saxon mād(dag) “mowing (day)”; cf. aftermath, mow 1, mow 2
Origin of math3
First recorded in 1825–35; from Hindi maṭh, from Sanskrit maṭha “hut, cottage, cell, monastery”
Explanation
Math is the science of numbers. You may start out learning addition and subtraction in math, and then end up years later tackling multivariable implicit differentiation problems. Say what?! Math is the common, shortened form of mathematics, which comes from the Greek mathematike tekhne, "mathematical science," from the root mathema, "knowledge or science." Math is one of the basic subjects that are covered in nearly every school, from basic addition to calculus. If someone says, "Do the math," they usually mean, "Just think about it — it's so obvious."
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.
See Examples For:
"The kids are not learning their math facts because they're becoming calculator hooked," he proclaimed.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Even if you really want to buy, at least take a look at the rentals on offer, compare them with what you could buy instead, and do the math.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
But supercomputers haven’t dented the passion that this football-player-turned-mathemetician has for math.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A former NFL player named John Urschel decided to do some light reading this week, and for him that meant leafing through the latest math papers from OpenAI about topics such as the Riemann hypothesis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Plus, she leaped ahead in math and is taking pre-algebra this year.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
“There’s a lot of fun to be had with AI and math. It’s not something that I’ve learned to have fun with yet.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
“I know a lot of kids here are really bad at math and struggle with math. And they’re kind of being forced into a class that I’m not sure it’s gonna help them succeed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2024
“When she was in first grade she didn’t really like math. Now we drive on the road and everything she sees she gets a number in her mind and uses math.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Although these ambitious sections would have benefited from more explicit transitions, Cheng's affable style carries her central message through to the end: “You didn't fail math. Math failed you.”
From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2023
“I hated math. I was never very good at it.”
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
