formula
pronunciation
How to pronounce formula in British English: UK [ˈfɔːmjələ]
How to pronounce formula in American English: US [ˈfɔːrmjələ]
-
- Noun:
- a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement
- directions for making something
- a conventionalized statement expressing some fundamental principle
- a representation of a substance using symbols for its constituent elements
- something regarded as a normative example
- a liquid food for infants
- (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems
Word Origin
- formula
- formula: see form
- formula (n.)
- 1630s, "words used in a ceremony or ritual" (earlier as a Latin word in English), from Latin formula "form, draft, contract, regulation;" in law, "a rule, method;" literally "small form," diminutive of forma "form" (see form (n.)). Modern sense is colored by Carlyle's use (1837) of the word in a sense of "rule slavishly followed without understanding" [OED]. From 1706 as "a prescription, a recipe;" mathematical use is from 1796; chemistry sense is from 1842. In motor racing, "class or specification of a car" (usually by engine size), 1927.
Example
- 1. Ready-to-feed formula is the most convenient for traveling .
- 2. Does your math teacher go over a particular formula ?
- 3. A modern formula one car is a technical masterpiece .
- 4. But the formula hasn 't presented itself yet .
- 5. That pragmatic formula no longer works .