algebraic geometry

noun

: a branch of mathematics concerned with describing the properties of geometric structures by algebraic expressions and especially those properties that are invariant under changes of coordinate systems
Anthropologist Clifford Geertz speaks of new "blurred genres" in scholarship, fields like cognitive science, molecular biology, bioethics, and algebraic geometryDaniel McNeill et al.
especially : the study of sets of points in space of n dimensions that satisfy systems of polynomial equations in which each equation contains n variables

Examples of algebraic geometry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the 1960s and ’70s, Alexander Grothendieck and his successors developed novel conceptual tools that helped resolve Hilbert’s problem and set the foundation for the field of modern algebraic geometry. Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 26 Sep. 2025 His research focuses on the interface of number theory and algebraic geometry. Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 Melanie Matchett Wood, 41, a Harvard number theorist who also studies algebraic geometry, is an infectious mathematician. Karen Heller, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2022 Ostensibly, the course was an introduction to algebraic geometry, the study of solutions to algebraic equations and their geometric properties. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 7 July 2022 See All Example Sentences for algebraic geometry

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of algebraic geometry was in 1821

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Algebraic geometry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algebraic%20geometry. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!