algebra

noun al·ge·bra \ ˈal-jə-brə \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of algebra

1 : a generalization of arithmetic in which letters representing numbers are combined according to the rules of arithmetic

2 : any of various systems or branches of mathematics or logic concerned with the properties and relationships of abstract entities (such as complex numbers, matrices, sets, vectors, groups, rings, or fields) manipulated in symbolic form under operations often analogous to those of arithmetic — compare boolean algebra

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algebraist

play \-ˌbrā-ist\ noun

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Recent Examples of algebra from the Web

Another day of struggling, in a classroom packed with more than 60 kids, to study logic and algebra in Spanish.

— kevin sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "For an American teen whose parents were deported to Mexico, an agonizing choice," 6 Apr. 2018
Moy teaches high school algebra, drives a school bus in the afternoon, coaches football and wrestling, umpires Little League baseball and drives for rideshare services.

— CNN, "These teachers work up to 6 jobs. Now they're fed up and ready to walk out," 31 Mar. 2018
UVa basketball is paint-drying, grass-growing, sixth-period-algebra boring.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Boring, Brilliant or Both? Virginia Vies to Weather the Madness With a Deadly Defense," 7 Mar. 2018
At Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, Wash., workers take classes in algebra, physics and writing in the factory complex and can check out books from a company library.

— douglas belkin, WSJ, "More Companies Teach Workers What Colleges Don’t," 22 Mar. 2018
The computers are an integral part of the new math curriculum, under which most textbooks used for algebra and geometry will be online and home assignments can be done offline to be uploaded later at school, officials said.

— rafael guerrero, Elgin Courier-News, "U46 to buy 11,000 Chromebooks, upgrade high school math curriculum," 8 Mar. 2018
Two students in his classroom died, and one of the slain students, Joaquin Oliver who went by the nickname 'Guac,' had just been transferred into his algebra class.

— CBS News, "Anger bubbles over at funerals in wake of Florida school shooting," 17 Feb. 2018
The Stoneman Douglas algebra teacher had all the right instincts.

— megan friedman, Redbook, "These Are Some of the Heroes of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Shooting," 20 Feb. 2018
Research from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that African-American students who were above average in math in fifth grade were often not identified as being prepared to take algebra in eighth grade.

— anita chabria and diana lambert, sacbee, "Elite or elitist? Why there are so few black and Latino students in advanced high school programs | The Sacramento Bee," 16 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'algebra.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.