permutation

[ pur-myoo-tey-shuhn ]

/ ˌpɜr myʊˈteɪ ʃən /

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noun

the act of permuting or permutating; alteration; transformation.

Mathematics.

the act of changing the order of elements arranged in a particular order, as abc into acb, bac, etc., or of arranging a number of elements in groups made up of equal numbers of the elements in different orders, as a and b in ab and ba; a one-to-one transformation of a set with a finite number of elements.
any of the resulting arrangements or groups.Compare combination (def. 8b).

OTHER WORDS FOR permutation

1 modification, transmutation, change.

See synonyms for permutation on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of permutation

1325–75; Middle English permutacioun (<Middle French permutacion) <Latin permūtātiōn- (stem of permūtātiō) thoroughgoing change. See per-, mutation, permute

OTHER WORDS FROM permutation

per·mu·ta·tion·al, adjectiveper·mu·ta·tion·ist, noun

Words nearby permutation

permit, permitted, permittivity, permonosulfuric acid, permutate, permutation, permutation group, permute, Pernambuco, pernancy, pernicious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use permutation in a sentence

It’s a hokey setup, but Duchovny is spiritedly determined to work through the various permutations of this man-and-Mammon tale.
David Duchovny wants to be taken seriously as a novelist. His new book makes a good case.|Mark Athitakis|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Rejewski applied the branch of mathematics devoted to permutations to the problem — an approach that would look obvious only after he used it.
Hackers thrive on the weak link in cybersecurity: People|Gershom Gorenberg|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
That a story set in 19th-century England thrives in this country so ubiquitously, in so many permutations, remains a bit of a wonder.
Theaters are shut, but ‘A Christmas Carol’ is forever. The endless variety online proves it.|Peter Marks|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
This problem was equivalent to finding the probability that a random permutation of five people was also a derangement, meaning no one wound up in their own starting position.
How High Can You Count With Menorah Math?|Zach Wissner-Gross|December 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

Usually in order to find them you need to go fishing in the sea of permutations of different elements.
Alchemy Arrives in a Burst of Light|Philip Ball|September 30, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The Manson family was its most grotesque and dangerous permutation.
My Battle With Manson|Vincent Bugliosi|August 7, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The economic reform wrought is largely of the nature of a permutation in the methods of conspicuous waste.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
We may thus select the four coins in one hundred ways, and the four removed may be arranged by permutation in twenty-four ways.
Amusements in Mathematics|Henry Ernest Dudeney
This permutation is made very convenient by the sentences being printed in sections which may be moved about and combined at will.
Montessori Elementary Materials|Maria Montessori
Nevertheless, it is much easier to give the child a vivid impression of them by the permutation of parts than by explanation.
Montessori Elementary Materials|Maria Montessori
Reputable authority can be quoted in behalf of every possible permutation of doctrine.
Reconstruction in Philosophy|John Dewey

British Dictionary definitions for permutation

permutation

/ (ˌpɜːmjʊˈteɪʃən) /

noun

maths

an ordered arrangement of the numbers, terms, etc, of a set into specified groupsthe permutations of a, b, and c, taken two at a time, are ab, ba, ac, ca, bc, cb
a group formed in this way. The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is n !/(n – r)!Symbol: n P r Compare combination (def. 6)

a combination of items made by reordering

an alteration; transformation

a fixed combination for selections of results on football poolsUsually shortened to: perm

Derived forms of permutation

permutational, adjective

Word Origin for permutation

C14: from Latin permūtātiō, from permūtāre to change thoroughly; see mutation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

permutation

OTHER WORDS FOR permutation

Origin of permutation

OTHER WORDS FROM permutation

Words nearby permutation

Words related to permutation

How to use permutation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for permutation

Derived forms of permutation

Word Origin for permutation