Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

equation

Pronunciation: /ɪˈkweɪʒ(ə)n/
Translate equation | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of equation

noun

  • 1 Mathematics a statement that the values of two mathematical expressions are equal (indicated by the sign =).
  • 2 [mass noun] the process of equating one thing with another:the equation of science with objectivity
  • (the equation) a situation in which several factors must be taken into account:money also came into the equation
  • 3 Chemistry a symbolic representation of the changes which occur in a chemical reaction, expressed in terms of the formulae of the molecules or other species involved.

Phrases

equation of the first (or second etc.) order

Mathematics an equation involving only the first derivative, second derivative, etc..

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin aequatio(n-), from aequare 'make equal' (see equate)

equation in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of equation in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

epithalamium

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm /
noun
a song or poem celebrating a marriage …