coefficient

noun

co·ef·fi·cient | \ ˌkō-ə-ˈfi-shənt

Definition of coefficient

1 : any of the factors of a product considered in relation to a specific factor especially : a constant factor of a term as distinguished from a variable

2a : a number that serves as a measure of some property or characteristic (as of a substance, device, or process) coefficient of expansion of a metal

b : measure

Examples of coefficient in a Sentence

5 is the coefficient of y in the term 5y. the metal's coefficient of expansion

Recent Examples on the Web

But countries that are moving toward a Gini coefficient of 0 (complete equality), for example, Venezuela, are also seeing their incomes approach that same number. — Stephen Horwitz, WSJ, "Two Blueprints to Make America Great Again," 9 Dec. 2018 The coefficient of friction is just some value that depends on the two types of materials interacting. — Rhett Allain, WIRED, "This Crazy Slide Is Either Evil or Funny," 17 June 2018 Just two years after the crash, the nation’s Gini coefficient, the standard measure of wealth distribution, was at 46.9, making the US among the most unequal of modern democracies. — Scott Timberg, Vox, "How music has responded to a decade of economic inequality," 30 July 2018 Generally speaking, the areas that had the strongest regression coefficients—that is, the places where elevation best predicted the change in real estate prices—are all along the coast and at the highest risk of flooding, as the graphic below shows. — Richard Florida, WIRED, "Climate Change Will Force the Poor From Their Homes," 13 July 2018 The roofline is a couple of tenths taller but its overall aerodynamics are slipperier with a coefficient of drag now at 0.27, which compares to 0.25 for a Prius Prime. — Mark Maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2019 Volkswagen Jetta: 7th generation wide-body reboot," 6 July 2018 Liverpool will also receive a share of an additional £513m based on their coefficient ranking once all the other 31 teams are confirmed for next year’s group stage. — SI.com, "REVEALED: The Staggering Amount Liverpool Could Earn From the Champions League Next Season," 6 June 2018 Those blocks of pixels, in turn, are represented by a sequence of transform coefficients. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Inventor says Google is patenting work he put in the public domain," 10 June 2018 Liverpool are currently ranked 11th in the coefficient making for a £21.4m share. — SI.com, "REVEALED: The Staggering Amount Liverpool Could Earn From the Champions League Next Season," 6 June 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near coefficient

coefficient of compressibility

coefficient of contingency

coefficient of contraction

Statistics for coefficient

Last Updated

25 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for coefficient

The first known use of coefficient was circa 1715

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More Definitions for coefficient

coefficient

noun

English Language Learners Definition of coefficient

mathematics : a number by which another number or symbol is multiplied

physics : a number that is used to measure some property or characteristic of a substance

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

coefficient

noun

co·ef·fi·cient | \ ˌkō-ə-ˈfish-ənt

Medical Definition of coefficient

: a number that serves as a measure of some property (as of a substance) or characteristic (as of a device or process) and that is commonly used as a factor in computations the coefficient of expansion of a metal — see absorption coefficient