What does function mean?

What does function mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does function mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] (mathematics) a mathematical relation such that each element of a given set (the domain of the function) is associated with an element of another set (the range of the function)[v] perform as expected when applied(The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in Does this old car st

function

function - The Free Dictionary

[n] (mathematics) a mathematical relation such that each element of a given set (the domain of the function) is associated with an element of another set (the range of the function)

[v] perform as expected when applied
(The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in Does this old car still run well? This old radio doesn't work anymore)

[n] what something is used for
(the function of an auger is to bore holes ballet is beautiful but what use is it?)

[v] serve a purpose, role, or function
(The tree stump serves as a table The female students served as a control group This table would serve very well His freedom served him well The table functions as a desk)

[n] the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
(the function of a teacher the government must do its part play its role)

[v] perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function
(His wife officiated as his private secretary)

[n] a relation such that one thing is dependent on another
(height is a function of age price is a function of supply and demand)

[n] a formal or official social gathering or ceremony
(it was a black-tie function)

[n] a vaguely specified social event
(the party was quite an affair an occasion arranged to honor the president a seemingly endless round of social functions)

[n] a set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program

Other vocabulary

f, f clef, f layer, f number, f region, f. d. roosevelt, f. g. banting, f. scott fitzgerald, f.i.s.c., fa, fa la, faa, fab, fabaceae, faberge, fabian, fabian society, fabiana, fabiana imbricata, fabianism, fable, fabled, fabric, fabricate, fabricated, fabrication, fabricator, fabulist, fabulous, fabulously, u, u-boat, u-drive, u-shaped, u-turn, u. s. air force, u. s. army, u. s. army special forces, u. s. coast guard, u. s. code, u.k., u.s., u.s. army criminal investigation laboratory, u.s. congress, u.s. constitution, u.s. government, u.s. house, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. mint, u.s. national library of medicine, u.s. senate, u.s. waters, u.s.a., u308, uakari, ubermensch, ubiety, ubiquinone, ubiquitous, ubiquitousness

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.