variable definition | Dictionary.com

var⋅i⋅a⋅ble

[vair-ee-uh-buh

–adjective

1.	apt or liable to vary or change; changeable: variable weather; variable moods.

2.	capable of being varied or changed; alterable: a variable time limit for completion of a book.

3.	inconstant; fickle: a variable lover.

4.	having much variation or diversity.

5.	Biology. deviating from the usual type, as a species or a specific character.

6.	Astronomy. (of a star) changing in brightness.

7.	Meteorology. (of wind) tending to change in direction.

8.	Mathematics. having the nature or characteristics of a variable.

–noun

9.	something that may or does vary; a variable feature or factor.

10.

Mathematics, Computers.

a.	a quantity or function that may assume any given value or set of values.

b.	a symbol that represents this.

11.	Logic. (in the functional calculus) a symbol for an unspecified member of a class of things or statements. Compare bound variable, free variable.

12.	Astronomy. variable star.

13.

Meteorology.

a.	a shifting wind, esp. as distinguished from a trade wind.

b.	variables, doldrums (def. 2a).

Origin:
1350–1400; late ME < L variābilis, equiv. to vari(us) various + -ābilis -able

Related forms:

var⋅i⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, var⋅i⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun

var⋅i⋅a⋅bly, adverb

Synonyms:
3. vacillating, wavering, fluctuating, unsteady, mercurial.

Antonyms:
1, 3. constant.

variable star

–noun Astronomy.

a star that varies markedly in brightness from time to time.

Also called variable.

Origin:
1780–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To variable

var·i·a·ble (vâr'ē-ə-bəl, vār'-)

adj.

1. Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.
2. Inconstant; fickle.
Biology Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.
Mathematics Having no fixed quantitative value.

Something that varies or is prone to variation.
Astronomy A variable star.
Mathematics
1. A quantity capable of assuming any of a set of values.
2. A symbol representing such a quantity. For example, in the expression a² + b² = c², a, b, and c are variables.

var'i·a·ble·ness n., var'i·a·bly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Variable

Va"ri*a*ble\, a. [L. variabilis: cf. F. variable.]

1. Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity.

2. Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable; fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men are variable; passions are variable.

Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. --Shak.

His heart, I know, how variable and vain! --Milton.

Variable exhaust (Steam Eng.), a blast pipe with an adjustable opening.

Variable quantity (Math.), a variable.

Variable stars (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.

Syn: Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady; versatile; inconstant.

Variable

Va"ri*a*ble\, n. 1. That which is variable; that which varies, or is subject to change.

2. (Math.) A quantity which may increase or decrease; a quantity which admits of an infinite number of values in the same expression; a variable quantity; as, in the equation x^2 - y^2 = R^2, x and y are variables.

3. (Naut.) (a) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force. (b) pl. Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.

Independent variable (Math.), that one of two or more variables, connected with each other in any way whatever, to which changes are supposed to be given at will. Thus, in the equation x^2 - y^2 = R^2, if arbitrary changes are supposed to be given to x, then x is the independent variable, and y is called a function of x. There may be two or more independent variables in an equation or problem. Cf. Dependent variable, under Dependent.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : variable

Spanish: variable,

German: unterschiedlich,

Japanese: 変えられる

More Translations »

variable (adj.)

1387, of persons, from O.Fr. variable, from L. variabilis "changeable," from variare "to change" (see vary). Of weather, seasons, etc., attested from c.1480; of stars, from 1788. The noun meaning "quantity that can vary in value" first recorded 1816, from the adj.

variable

Something, such as stock prices, earnings, dividend payments, interest rates, and gross domestic product, that has no fixed quantitative value. See also dependent variable, independent variable.

Main Entry: ¹vari·able
Pronunciation: 'ver-E-&-b&l, 'var-
Function: adjective
1 : able or apt to vary : subject tovariation or changes variable of all diseases —H. G. Rapaport & Shirley Linde>
2 : characterized by variations
3 : not true to type : ABERRANT —used of a biological group or character —vari·abil·i·ty /"ver-E-&-'bil-&t-E, "var-/ noun plural -ties

Main Entry: ²variable
Function: noun
: something that is variable

variable var·i·a·ble (vâr'ē-ə-bəl, vār'-)
adj.

Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.
Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.
Having no fixed quantitative value.

Something that varies or that is prone to variation.
A quantity that is capable of assuming any of a set of values.

variable (vâr'ē-ə-bəl) Pronunciation Key

A mathematical quantity capable of assuming any of a set of values, such as x in the expression 3x + 2.
A factor or condition that is subject to change, especially one that is allowed to change in a scientific experiment to test a hypothesis. See more at control.

variable programming
(Sometimes "var" /veir/ or /var/) A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read it them. Each programming language has different rules about how variables can be named, typed, and used. Typically, a value is "assigned" to a variable in an assignment statement. The value is obtained by evaluating an expression and then stored in the variable. For example, the assignment
x = y + 1
means "add one to y and store the result in x". This may look like a mathematical equation but the mathematical equality is only true in the program until the value of x or y changes. Furthermore, statements like
x = x + 1
are common. This means "add one to x", which only makes sense as a state changing operation, not as a mathematical equality.
The simplest form of variable corresponds to a single-word of memory or a CPU register and an assignment to a load or store machine code operation.
A variable is usually defined to have a type, which never changes, and which defines the set of values the variable can hold. A type may specify a single ("atomic") value or a collection ("aggregate") of values of the same or different types. A common aggregate type is the array - a set of values, one of which can be selected by supplying a numerical index.
Languages may be untyped, weakly typed, strongly typed, or some combination. Object-oriented programming languages extend this to object types or classes.
A variable's scope is the region of the program source within which it represents a certain thing. Scoping rules are also highly language dependent but most serious languages support both local variables and global variables. Subroutine and function formal arguments are special variables which are set automatically by the language runtime on entry to the subroutine.
In a functional programming language, a variable's value never changes and change of state is handled as recursion over lists of values.
(2004-11-16)

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