algorithm
/ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.02 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.
Countable
noun
A flowchart illustrating a decision-making process for human users, especially health care professionals.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Informally, an algorithm is any well-defined computational procedure that takes some value, or set of values, as input and produces some value, or set of values, as output. An algorithm is thus a sequence of computational steps that transform the input into the output."
- "Mark Zuckerberg: No, I need the algorithm you used to rank chess players. / Eduardo Saverin: Are you OK? / Mark Zuckerberg: We're ranking girls."
- "The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use."
- "It’s a computer – an algorithm – and if you’ve been in Iran lately, they take you out of the system."
- "Together, the Masons craft a new algorithm to make an end-run around Axe’s sabotage — or so they want him to believe. With the help of a surveillance photo procured by his dirty-deeds specialist Hall (Terry Kinney), Axe has a copy of the algo he spends a full day attempting to decipher before realizing it has a mistake."
- "This retrospective observational analysis evaluated BP [blood pressure] control in an entirely remote management program before and during the pandemic. A team of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physicians, and nonlicensed navigators used an evidence‐based clinical algorithm to optimize hypertensive treatment. The algorithm was adapted during the pandemic to simplify BP control."
Etymology
Etymology tree Arabic ال (al-) Old Persian *𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼- (*u-v-a-r-) Old Persian *𐏀𐎷𐎡- (*z-mi-i-) Old Persian 𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼𐏀𐎷𐎡𐎹 (u-v-a-r-z-mi-i-y)der. Old Persian 𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼𐏀𐎷𐎡𐏁 (u-v-a-r-z-mi-i-š) Classical Persian خْوَارَزْم (xwārazm)bor. Arabic خَوَارِزْم (ḵawārizm) Proto-Afroasiatic Proto-Semitic Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) Arabic خَوَارِزْمِيّ (ḵawārizmiyy) Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy)bor. Medieval Latin algorismusbor. Anglo-Norman algorismebor. Middle English algorisme English algorism ▲ English arithmo-influ. English algorithm From Middle English algorisme, augrym, from Anglo-Norman algorisme, augrim, from Medieval Latin algorismus, from Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy), the nisba of Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī and a toponymic name meaning "the Chorasmian". The spelling change (-s- > -th-) was influenced by unrelated Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós) (whence English arithmo-).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: algorisme, algorismus, الخَوَارِزْمِيّ
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Mathematics.