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• math
  math

  noun

  mathematics.
• math.
  math.

  abbreviation

  mathematical.

math

¹ American  

[math] / mæθ /

noun

1. mathematics.

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math ² American  

[math] / mæθ /

noun

British Dialect.

1. a mowing; a leveling or cutting down of grass, grain, etc., with a mowing machine or scythe.

2. the crop mowed.

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math ³ American  

[muhth] / mʌθ /

Also matha

noun

1. a Hindu monastery.

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math. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. mathematical.

2. mathematician.

3. mathematics.

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math ¹ British  

/ mæθ /

noun

1. Brit equivalent: maths.  informal short for mathematics

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math. ² British  

abbreviation

1. mathematics

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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

Havens was also going to start a nonprofit organization called Math Haven to make math more accessible to the public and students in high school.

From Slate • May 2, 2026

Matsumoto’s mother is of Korean descent and is principal at Hawthorne Math and Science Academy.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Math scores started off lower than English scores, and the school district therefore set a higher goal of a 40-point distance-from-standard improvement over four years.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

Given that specialized AI systems can produce gold-medal answers to International Math Olympiad questions, calculating taxes should be no big deal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

We pause at the split in the hallway where he will go one way, toward Advanced Math, and I will go the other, toward Faction History.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• algebra
• calculation
• calculus
• geometry