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variable

 - 11 dictionary results

var⋅i⋅a⋅ble

  [vair-ee-uh-buhl]
Use variable in a Sentence
–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.
Cite This Source 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.

  2. Biology Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.

  3. Mathematics Having no fixed quantitative value.

n.  

  1. Something that varies or is prone to variation.

  2. Astronomy A variable star.

  3. 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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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

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.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

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
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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

  1. Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.

  2. Tending to deviate, as from a normal or recognized type; aberrant.

  3. Having no fixed quantitative value.

n.

  1. Something that varies or that is prone to variation.

  2. A quantity that is capable of assuming any of a set of values.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
variable   (vâr'ē-ə-bəl)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A mathematical quantity capable of assuming any of a set of values, such as x in the expression 3x + 2.

  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 star  
A star whose actual or observed brightness varies periodically. These changes can occur with varying degrees of regularity and intensity, over times ranging from a fraction of a second to many years. Intrinsic variation occurs because of changes of the star itself, often due to internal vibration or eruptions, or to influx of nearby material. Cepheids and novae are examples of intrinsically variable stars. Extrinsic variation in a star's observed brightness that does not reflect physical changes in the star also occur, as when a darker star periodically eclipses a brighter star in an eclipsing binary system, or with the rotation of a star.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

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)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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