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.
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
Research has previously been conducted to investigate whether the herpes simplex virus could also be a possible risk factor for dementia; something now confirmed in this study.
From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2024
Deaths caused by HSV-1 - herpes simplex 1 - are almost unheard of in healthy people.
From BBC • Jul. 26, 2023
The treatment, called Vyjuvek, uses an inactivated herpes simplex virus to deliver working copies of that gene.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2023
They have not the easy negligence, the elegant simplicity, the "simplex munditiis," of woods.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 14 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.
