PEMDAS

American

[pem-duhs] / ˈpɛm dəs /

abbreviation

Mathematics. a mnemonic for the order of operations in solving equations: parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. The order of multiplication and division relative to each other, and of addition and subtraction relative to each other, is arbitrary; these operations are to be done at the same level of the equation in the order that they appear. Compare BEDMAS.

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PEMDAS

An earlier version of this article misidentified the initial term in the acronym PEMDAS.

From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2019

We use an “order of operations” rule we memorized in childhood: “Please forgive my dear Aunt Sally,” or PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses Exponents Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction.

From Slate ● Mar. 12, 2013

Toby had put parentheses after exponents when explaining PEMDAS, even though the order was literally parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023