integral

[ in-ti-gruhl, in-teg-ruhl ]
See synonyms for: integralintegralsintegrality on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging as a part of the whole; constituent or component: integral parts.

  2. necessary to the completeness of the whole: This point is integral to his plan.

  1. consisting or composed of parts that together constitute a whole.

  2. entire; complete; whole: the integral works of a writer.

  3. Arithmetic. pertaining to or being an integer; not fractional.

  4. Mathematics. pertaining to or involving integrals.

noun
  1. an integral whole.

  2. Mathematics.

    • Also called Riemann integral. the numerical measure of the area bounded above by the graph of a given function, below by the x-axis, and on the sides by ordinates drawn at the endpoints of a specified interval; the limit, as the norm of partitions of the given interval approaches zero, of the sum of the products of the function evaluated at a point in each subinterval times the length of the subinterval.

    • a primitive.

    • any of several analogous quantities.: Compare improper integral, line integral, multiple integral, surface integral.

Origin of integral

1
From the Medieval Latin word integrālis, dating back to 1545–55. See integer, -al1

Other words for integral

Other words from integral

  • in·te·gral·i·ty, noun
  • in·te·gral·ly, adverb
  • un·in·te·gral, adjective
  • un·in·te·gral·ly, adverb

Words Nearby integral

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

How to use integral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for integral

integral

adjective(ˈɪntɪɡrəl, ɪnˈtɛɡrəl)
  1. (often foll by to) being an essential part (of); intrinsic (to)

  2. intact; entire

  1. formed of constituent parts; united

  2. maths

    • of or involving an integral

    • involving or being an integer

noun(ˈɪntɪɡrəl)
  1. maths the limit of an increasingly large number of increasingly smaller quantities, related to the function that is being integrated (the integrand). The independent variables may be confined within certain limits (definite integral) or in the absence of limits (indefinite integral): Symbol: ʃ

  2. a complete thing; whole

Derived forms of integral

  • integrality (ˌɪntɪˈɡrælɪtɪ), noun
  • integrally, adverb

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 integral

integral

[ ĭntĭ-grəl ]


Adjective
  1. Involving or expressed as an integer or integers.

Noun

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