quantifier

American  

[kwon-tuh-fahy-er] / ˈkwɒn təˌfaɪ ər /

noun

quantifiers plural

1. Logic. an expression, as “all” or “some,” that indicates the quantity of a proposition.

2. a word, especially a modifier, that indicates the quantity of something.

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quantifier British  

/ ˈkwɒntɪˌfaɪə /

noun

1. logic

   1. a symbol including a variable that indicates the degree of generality of the expression in which that variable occurs, as (∃ x ) in (∃ x ) Fx , rendered "something is an F", ( x ) in ( x )( Fx → Gx ), rendered "all Fs are Gs"

   2. any other symbol with an analogous interpretation

      the existential quantifier, (∃x), corresponds to the words "there is something, x, such that …"

2. grammar a word or phrase in a natural language having this role, such as some, all, or many in English

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• quantifiers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of quantifier

First recorded in 1875–80; quantify + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quantifier quantifiers

He had nine sacks in the first eight games, and there’s no reliable quantifier for the upheaval he causes on countless plays when he records no stats.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2020

White was an early theorist and quantifier of what has come to be known as the summer slide—the learning loss that occurs when children are out of the classroom.

From The New Yorker ● May 29, 2015

Finally, in many cases a quantifier naturally floats leftward away from the verb, unsplitting the infinitive:

From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2014

You have to deal with things like imprecise quantifier scope.

From Slate ● May 11, 2012

The easiest way to repair an unbalanced coordination is to zero in on the second coordinate and then force the first coordinate to match it by sliding its quantifier into a more suitable spot.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Some of those languages use natural quantifiers such as ‘several’ and ‘many’ to indicate higher values.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 23, 2021

The kth level of the polynomial hierarchy is defined to be the set of functions that can be written in terms of k alternating quantifiers, that is, . where ∧ is the Boolean AND operation.

From Nature ● Sep. 12, 2017

Some quantifiers are not choosy: we can talk about "more pebbles" or "more gravel".

From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2014

Stephen Jay Gould, in his book “The Mismeasure of Man,” provided ample evidence that meretricious findings are often produced by impressively meticulous quantifiers.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2012

Because quantifiers like both and either have a disconcerting habit of floating around the sentence, the phrases that come after them may end up nonparallel, and that grates on the ear.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker