arithmetic

noun

arith·me·tic ə-ˈrith-mə-ˌtik

: a branch of mathematics that deals usually with the nonnegative real numbers including sometimes the transfinite cardinals and with the application of the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to them

: a treatise on arithmetic

: computation, calculation

arithmetic

ˌer-ith-ˈme-tik

ˌa-rith-

adjective

or arithmetical

ˌer-ith-ˈme-ti-kəl

ˌa-rith-

arithmetically

ˌer-ith-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē

ˌa-rith-

adverb

arithmetician

ə-ˌrith-mə-ˈti-shən

noun

Examples of arithmetic in a Sentence

a software program that will do the arithmetic for you I haven't actually done the arithmetic yet, but I suspect we're losing money on the deal.

Recent Examples on the Web It was recommended that the schools devote half the time to reading, writing and arithmetic. —

Nicholas P. Brown, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023 Physics and arithmetic become echoes of each other, in a way that echoes across the Langlands program. —

Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2023 Yet the deterrence arithmetic may now be changing, suggests the Hezbollah missile specialist. —

Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2023 This arithmetic led to the destruction of older categories and a rapid flowering of new rap subgenres around the world. —

C. Brandon Ogbunu, WIRED, 11 Aug. 2023 Injecting sexism and ignoring arithmetic leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. —

Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 8 Aug. 2023 Plato, for example, believed that practicing arithmetic could boost general intelligence. —

Marta Zaraska, Discover Magazine, 17 June 2023 Coalition arithmetic was the lodestar of statecraft: shifts in alliances could upset the balance of power overnight, as the gain or loss of a great power in an alliance dwarfed what any one state could do internally to augment its own power in the short run. —

Stephen G. Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023 But if no day is truly average, Tuesday, despite the dictates of arithmetic, was certainly not average. —

Martin Weil, Washington Post, 10 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arithmetic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English arsmetrik, from Anglo-French arismatike, from Latin arithmetica, from Greek arithmētikē, from feminine of arithmētikos arithmetical, from arithmein to count, from arithmos number; akin to Old English rīm number, and perhaps to Greek arariskein to fit

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of arithmetic was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century