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definitions

square root

noun
  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.

Origin of square root

First recorded in 1550–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for square root

Historical Examples of square root

  • On a similar plan a tapering wedge acts as a square-root extractor, displacing water as the square of its depth of immersion.

British Dictionary definitions for square root

square root

noun
  1. a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself gives a given number or quantity2 is a square root of 4, usually written √4 or 4 1/2
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 in Science

square root

  1. A number that, when squared, yields a given number. For example, since 5 X 5 = 25, the square root of 25 (written √25) is 5.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
square root in Culture

square root

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.

Note

The square roots of many numbers, such as three, are irrational numbers.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.