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:
Entry-level jobs pay relatively little, job security is tenuous and the math of going out matters.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The past few months have been the most electrifying time for math since the invention of the calculator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
If only the psychology of artificial intelligence were as verifiable as math.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
As the models from Anthropic and OpenAI keep toppling brutal problems, they have done something no less improbable: They have turned me into a math person.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
From the time she was working on her math problems, I guess, although I’ve been back up here since then, and I didn’t see it.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“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
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’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
“So help me! The catch is that the dope doesn’t like math. He would rather read slushy novels. Honest! You should see the tripe Susie keeps feeding him: ‘Purple Passion’ and ‘Love in Space.’
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
