Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for known quantity. Search instead for Known+quantities.

known quantity

American  

noun

  1. Mathematics. a quantity whose value is given: in algebra, frequently represented by a letter from the first part of the alphabet, as a, b, or c.

  2. any factor, circumstance, etc., that is already accepted or familiar.

    Her honesty is a known quantity.

Etymology

Origin of known quantity

First recorded in 1975–80

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.