calculation

noun

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cal·cu·la·tion | \ ˌkal-kyə-ˈlā-shən

Definition of calculation

1a : the process or an act of calculating

b : the result of an act of calculating

2a : studied care in analyzing or planning

b : cold heartless planning to promote self-interest

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Examples of calculation in a Sentence

According to experts' calculations, that star will explode within two billion years. The computer can do millions of calculations each second. Careful calculation is required to determine the required amount of fuel. The book reveals the cold calculations that were behind the government's policies. His positions are based on political calculation of what voters want to hear.

Recent Examples on the Web But the report included in its calculation a 25% emergency reserve of oxycodone that was never put into production and was added in 2013 to protect against possible shortages in the event of war, natural disaster or terrorist attack. — Arkansas Online, "In opioid crisis, DEA takes heat on quotas," 29 Dec. 2019 This nonetheless raises another important consideration in our calculations: Many children live with other children. — Philip Bump, Washington Post, "The breathtaking scale of Santa Claus’s task on Christmas Eve," 20 Dec. 2019 Enverus used filings submitted by operators to the Railroad Commission for its calculations. . — Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle, "Drilling Down: The 10 longest horizontal wells in Texas," 16 Dec. 2019 Based on our calculations, we were led to think that the dark matter must interact through what is known as the weak nuclear force, or through some other unknown force that is roughly as powerful. — Dan Hooper, Time, "Will We Ever Find Dark Matter in the Universe?," 6 Dec. 2019 For his calculations, Cohen looked at the number of divorces to married women. — Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, "Hold your heads high, millennials and Gen Z! There are (at least) 6 things you haven't killed," 18 Nov. 2019 This new work, in contrast, bakes altruistic behavior into its calculations and recognizes that drivers are complicated and may change their tendencies as situations evolve. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Improving autonomous autos by having them guess which humans are selfish," 18 Nov. 2019 The board stands by its calculations, and the two sides have continued to debate the issue. — Lisa Song, ProPublica, "Cap and Trade Is Supposed to Solve Climate Change, but Oil and Gas Company Emissions Are Up," 15 Nov. 2019 But her father remains on the hook for about $5,000 for terminating the lease early, by my calculations. — BostonGlobe.com, "About a year ago, Tom O’Brien, at age 94, signed a 39-month lease on a new Chevrolet Trax SUV.," 31 Oct. 2019

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

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Last Updated

10 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Calculation.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calculation. Accessed 18 January 2020.

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More Definitions for calculation

calculation

noun

English Language Learners Definition of calculation

: a process or result of calculating something

: careful thought and planning that is done usually for selfish reasons

See the full definition for calculation in the English Language Learners Dictionary

calculation

noun

cal·cu·la·tion | \ ˌkal-kyə-ˈlā-shən

Kids Definition of calculation

: the process or result of adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing Careful calculation is required. Our calculations indicate a slight increase.

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