set theory
Americannoun
noun
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maths the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties and interrelationships of sets
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logic a theory constructed within first-order logic that yields the mathematical theory of classes, esp one that distinguishes sets from proper classes as a means of avoiding certain paradoxes
Etymology
Origin of set theory
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The most famous example of undecidability in set theory is CH.
From Scientific American • Aug. 16, 2021
In the late 1800s, German logician Georg Cantor, founder of modern set theory, discovered that not all infinite sets are equal.
From Scientific American • Aug. 16, 2021
Dehn’s concepts of harmonic intervals, topology and set theory entered her work; Ms. Rockburne started thinking of artworks as “visual equations.”
From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2018
Initially, Ms. Rockburne was inspired by set theory, a branch of mathematical logic.
From New York Times • May 4, 2018
It would be little comfort to Cantor that his work was the foundation of a whole new branch of mathematics: set theory.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
