partial sum

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. one of a series of sums of elements of a given sequence, the first sum being the first element, the second sum being the first element added to the second element, the third sum being equal to the sum of the first three elements, and so on.

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Etymology

Origin of partial sum

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

partial sum

He calculates that roughly 100 million taxpayers could get the entire $1,700, while another 21 million could receive a partial sum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Only three of the eight workers actually got their money: one full-time staff employee got paid through HR channels, while another gig worker received a partial sum after weeks of haggling.

From The Verge ● May 26, 2020

A quarter get a partial sum and 10 percent get nothing.

From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2019

The nth partial sum of a series is the sum of a finite number of consecutive terms beginning with the first term.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

Just as Achilles’ sub-races are each finite, each partial sum in a limit is finite.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife