square root


noun
  1. a quantity of which a given quantity is the square: The quantities +6 and −6 are square roots of 36 since (+6)×(+6)=36 and (−6)×(−6)=36.

Origin of square root

1
First recorded in 1550–60

Words Nearby square root

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use square root in a sentence

  • In previous tournaments, no one had been able to complete all 10 square root problems within the time limit.

    The Other World Cup | Alex Bellos | June 11, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Does a knowledge of botany necessarily involve a knowledge of square root and cube root?

  • I wanted to go through square root, but he said he didn't know anything about square root, and it wasn't any use, anyway.

    Blue Goose | Frank Lewis Nason
  • You refused my help in square root, and are taking lessons in painting from Miss Hartwell.

    Blue Goose | Frank Lewis Nason
  • Or, once more, the speed of each planet in its orbit is as the inverse square-root of its distance from the sun.

    Pioneers of Science | Oliver Lodge

British Dictionary definitions for square root

square root

noun
  1. a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself gives a given number or quantity: 2 is a square root of 4, usually written √4 or 4 1/2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for square root

square root

  1. A number that, when squared, yields a given number. For example, since 5 X 5 = 25, the square root of 25 (written √25) is 5.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for square root

square root

A number that, when multiplied by itself, will result in a given number. The square root of four is two; the square root of one hundred is ten.

Notes for square root

The square roots of many numbers, such as three, are irrational numbers.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.