heuristic

American  

[hyoo-ris-tik, yoo-] / hyʊˈrɪs tɪk, yʊ- /

adjective

1. serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.

2. encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems independently, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error.

   The course uses a heuristic teaching method to allow students to find answers without being directly taught.

3. of, relating to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.

4. Computers, Mathematics. pertaining to a trial-and-error method of problem solving used when an algorithmic approach is impractical.

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noun

1. a heuristic method of argument.

2. the study of heuristic procedure.

heuristic British  

/ hjʊəˈrɪstɪk /

adjective

1. helping to learn; guiding in discovery or investigation

2. (of a method of teaching) allowing pupils to learn things for themselves

3. 1. maths science philosophy using or obtained by exploration of possibilities rather than by following set rules

   2. computing denoting a rule of thumb for solving a problem without the exhaustive application of an algorithm

      a heuristic solution

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noun

1. (plural) the science of heuristic procedure

Other Word Forms

• heuristically adverb
• nonheuristic adjective
• unheuristic adjective
• unheuristically adverb

Etymology

Origin of heuristic

First recorded in 1815–25; from New Latin heuristicus, equivalent to Greek heur(ískein) “to find out, discover” + Latin -isticus -istic

Example Sentences

The Merton share is just a heuristic, but the main point is that investors should have a simple, rules-based framework in mind when thinking about sizing.

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025

It operates automatically and effortlessly through heuristic shortcuts.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2025

Finally, they incorporated a heuristic technique that ensures SecureLoop identifies a schedule which maximizes the performance of the entire deep neural network, rather than only a single layer.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

Still, scientific support for Mori’s uncanny valley has been mixed, and it should be thought of as a heuristic rather than a hard and fast rule, says MacDorman.

From National Geographic • Sep. 29, 2023

It needed heuristic value to survive, and this was lacking.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas