simplex
Americanadjective
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simple; consisting of or characterized by a single element.
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pertaining to or noting a telecommunications system permitting communication in only one direction at a time.
noun
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Mathematics. a basic geometric element in a Euclidean space, being a line segment in one dimension, a triangle in two dimensions, a tetrahedron in three dimensions, and so on: used in topology and linear programming.
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an apartment having all the rooms on one floor.
adjective
noun
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linguistics a simple not a compound word
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geometry the most elementary geometric figure in Euclidean space of a given dimension; a line segment in one-dimensional space or a triangle in two-dimensional space
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of simplex
1585–95; < Latin: having a single layer, literally, one-fold, equivalent to sim-, base meaning “one” (akin to similis similar, Greek hén (neuter) one, homós same ( see homo-), English same ) + -plex -plex
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.
It is based on a modified herpes simplex virus that has been engineered to replicate only inside glioblastoma cells, leaving healthy tissue unaffected.
From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026
In Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 2020, as in other military towns across the U.S., rates of sexually transmitted infections like syphilis, herpes simplex and HIV are among the highest in the country.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2025
It’s been associated with infections such as the herpes simplex virus and Epstein-Barr virus, as well as Lyme disease and autoimmune disorders.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2024
The viruses—usually benign varieties such as the herpes simplex viruses and adenoviruses that are often modified to make them safer and more potent—can reproduce in tumor cells but not in healthy cells.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2023
Each singular kind presents itself as a limit separating two kinds of inferior singularity; the cuspidal separates the crunodal and the acnodal, and these last separate from each other the complex and the simplex.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
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.
