mathematical

adjective

math·​e·​mat·​i·​cal ˌmath-ˈma-ti-kəl 

ˌma-thə-

variants or less commonly mathematic

ˌmath-ˈma-tik 

ˌma-thə-

1

: of, relating to, or according with mathematics

2

a

: rigorously exact : precise

b

: certain

3

: possible but highly improbable

only a mathematical chance

mathematically

ˌmath-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌma-thə-

adverb

Synonyms of mathematical

• accurate
• precise
• rigorous

Examples of mathematical in a Sentence

They recorded the changes with mathematical precision.

The team has only a mathematical chance of making the play-offs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Right now, there are no indications exploits are being used to install anything other than Monero miners, which surreptitiously harness a Mac’s resources to perform mathematical operations that generate the cryptocurrency for the attacker. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2026

There are fewer 18-year-olds, that's just a mathematical fact. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026

In Anthropic’s Economic Index, computer and mathematical tasks represent a major share of Claude usage, with API usage especially concentrated in that category. — Ishraq Khan, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Maynard also commends the company for its presentation of the result, in light of AI’s tendency to copy humans’ mathematical results and present them as its own ideas. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mathematicalle, from Latin mathematicus, from Greek mathēmatikos, from mathēmat-, mathēma learning, mathematics, from manthanein to learn; probably akin to Goth mundon to pay attention

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mathematical

• mathematical expectation
• mathematical induction
• mathematical logic

Rhymes for mathematical

• emblematical
• enigmatical
• kinematical
• problematical
• ungrammatical
• catechol
• statical
• dogmatical
• fanatical
• grammatical
• sabbatical

Kids Definition

mathematical

adjective

math·​e·​mat·​i·​cal ˌmath-ə-ˈmat-i-kəl 

math-ˈmat-

1

: of, relating to, or according with mathematics

2

: very exact

mathematical precision

mathematically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb