prime number
noun Mathematics.
a positive integer that is not divisible without remainder by any integer except itself and 1, with 1 often excluded: The integers 2, 3, 5, and 7 are prime numbers.
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You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Also called prime.
Origin of prime number
First recorded in 1585–95
Words nearby prime number
prime interest rate, primely, prime meridian, prime minister, prime mover, prime number, prime number theorem, prime of life, primer, prime rate, prime ribs
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for prime number
prime number
noun
an integer that cannot be factorized into other integers but is only divisible by itself or 1, such as 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11Sometimes shortened to: prime Compare composite number
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
Scientific definitions for prime number
prime number
A positive integer greater than 1 that can only be divided by itself and 1 without leaving a remainder. Examples of prime numbers are 7, 23, and 67. Compare composite number.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for prime number
prime number
A number that cannot be divided evenly by any other number except itself and the number one; 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11 are prime numbers.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.