characteristic
[ kar-ik-tuh-ris-tik ]
/ ˌkær ɪk təˈrɪs tɪk /
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adjective
Also char·ac·ter·is·ti·cal. pertaining to, constituting, or indicating the character or peculiar quality of a person or thing; typical; distinctive: Red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn.
noun
a distinguishing feature or quality: Generosity is his chief characteristic.
Mathematics.
- the integral part of a common logarithm.Compare mantissa.
- the exponent of 10 in a number expressed in scientific notation.
- the smallest positive integer n such that each element of a given ring added to itself n times results in 0.
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Origin of characteristic
synonym study for characteristic
2. See feature.
OTHER WORDS FROM characteristic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use characteristic in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for characteristic
characteristic
/ (ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk) /
noun
a distinguishing quality, attribute, or trait
maths
- the integral part of a common logarithm, indicating the order of magnitude of the associated numberthe characteristic of 2.4771 is 2 Compare mantissa
- another name for exponent, used esp in number representation in computing
adjective
indicative of a distinctive quality, etc; typical
Derived forms of characteristic
characteristically, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for characteristic
characteristic
[ kăr′ək-tə-rĭs′tĭk ]
n.
A distinguishing feature or attribute; character.
A structure or function determined by a gene or genes; trait.
Other words from characteristic
char′ac•ter•is′tic adj.The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for characteristic
characteristic
[ kăr′ək-tə-rĭs′tĭk ]
The part of a logarithm to the base 10 that is to the left of the decimal point. For example, if 2.749 is a logarithm, 2 is the characteristic. Compare mantissa.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.