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:
He said he viewed it as a tool, much like a calculator to do math, and he isn’t a professional writer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Let’s do some fun math instead—like how these recommendations from my colleagues might add up to an enjoyable evening for you:
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
I did some back-of-my-notepad math and realized you can drive massive distances faster than I would have guessed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
As high-school math students gear up to buy the newest version of Texas Instruments’ TI-84 graphic calculator, cheaper upstarts are trying to break the company’s decades-old grip on the market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He asked if I wanted to help, but I would rather stare at a blank wall than do math during the summertime.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
“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
For instance, researchers can pass the following text to a language model: “Hello, my name is Lucas. I like soccer and math. I have been working on ... for the past few years.”
From Scientific American ● Jun. 15, 2023
“I’m a lawyer. I don’t like math. I don’t do math.”
From New York Times ● May 31, 2023
“I don’t know anything about Judaism. But I know math. If you give me a chance, hopefully, you know, the students will like the way I teach.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
“But this isn’t math. This is the Dewey decimal system and there’s always three numbers to the left of the decimal point.”
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
