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Slang dictionary results for square root.

square root

American  

noun

square roots plural
  1. a quantity of which a given quantity is the square.

    The quantities +6 and −6 are square roots of 36 since (+6)×(+6)=36 and (−6)×(−6)=36.


square root British  

noun

  1. a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself gives a given number or quantity

    2 is a square root of 4, usually written √4 or 41/2

"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

square root Scientific  
  1. A number that, when squared, yields a given number. For example, since 5 × 5 = 25, the square root of 25 (written √25) is 5.


square root Cultural  
  1. A number that, when multiplied by itself, will result in a given number. The square root of four is two; the square root of one hundred is ten.


Discover More

The square roots of many numbers, such as three, are irrational numbers.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of square root

First recorded in 1550–60

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.

Why is the square root of -1 called i?

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2024

“It’s the square root of pi, so take the square root of 3.1416,” Kelly cracked of his team’s chances in that scenario.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2023

The whole process takes time proportional to the square root of the number of boxes: Increasing that number by a factor of 100 only increases the runtime by a factor of 10.

From Scientific American • Sep. 27, 2023

England gave them the square root of nothing.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2023

Two was always the square root of four.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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