math

¹ American  

[math] / mæθ /

noun

1. mathematics.

---

math ² American  

[math] / mæθ /

noun

British Dialect.

1. a mowing; a leveling or cutting down of grass, grain, etc., with a mowing machine or scythe.

2. the crop mowed.

---

math ³ American  

[muhth] / mʌθ /

Also matha

noun

1. a Hindu monastery.

---

math. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. mathematical.

2. mathematician.

3. mathematics.

---

math ¹ British  

/ mæθ /

noun

1. Brit equivalent: maths.  informal short for mathematics

---

math. ² British  

abbreviation

1. mathematics

---

Etymology

Origin of math¹

First recorded in 1845–50; by shortening

Origin of math²

First recorded before 900; Middle English (bede)-mad, a kind of manorial duty to mow for one's lord, Old English mǣth “mowing, hay harvest”; cognate with German Mahd, Old Frisian mēth, Old Saxon mād(dag) “mowing (day)”; aftermath, mow ¹, mow ²

Origin of math³

First recorded in 1825–35; from Hindi maṭh, from Sanskrit maṭha “hut, cottage, cell, monastery”

Explanation

Math is the science of numbers. You may start out learning addition and subtraction in math, and then end up years later tackling multivariable implicit differentiation problems. Say what?! Math is the common, shortened form of mathematics, which comes from the Greek mathematike tekhne, "mathematical science," from the root mathema, "knowledge or science." Math is one of the basic subjects that are covered in nearly every school, from basic addition to calculus. If someone says, "Do the math," they usually mean, "Just think about it — it's so obvious."

Example Sentences

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Days before school was out for summer in 1985, Escondido High School math teacher Bart Schwartz, then 28, used a spare two hours during finals week to squeeze in a film screening with his class.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Readers who have done the math on this really want their friends and neighbors to know about it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

While the form shows Weedbrook owning more than 46 million shares, the math gets a bit complicated.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

According to my experience walking the neighborhood and some quick mental math, it should take Andre fifteen minutes to reach the store.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• algebra
• calculation
• calculus
• geometry