SINCE 1828
sieve of Eratosthenes
noun phrase
sieve of Er·a·tos·the·nes
| \ -ˌer-ə-ˈtäs-thə-ˌnēz
\
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Definition of sieve of Eratosthenes
: a procedure for finding prime numbers that involves writing down the odd numbers from 2 up in succession and crossing out every third number after 3, every fifth after 5 including those already crossed out, every seventh after 7, and so on with the numbers that are never crossed out being prime
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