Definition

<p>A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a <a href="/facts/Word/sD4KyoLF">word</a>, <a href="/facts/Phrase/mbnD0ksH">phrase</a>, or other set of <a href="/facts/Symbol/GS8mTn0h">symbols</a>). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: <a href="/facts/Intensional_definition/aPuPQbVC">intensional definitions</a> (which try to give the sense of a term), and <a href="/facts/Extensional_definition/aPuPQbVC">extensional definitions</a> (which try to list the objects that a term describes). Another important category of definitions is the class of <a href="/facts/Ostensive_definition/PSnotbuI">ostensive definitions</a>, which convey the meaning of a term by pointing out examples. A term may have many different senses and multiple meanings, and thus require multiple definitions.
</p><p>In <a href="/facts/Mathematics/pxTouaz4">mathematics</a>, a definition is used to give a precise meaning to a new term, by describing a condition which unambiguously qualifies what the mathematical term is and is not. Definitions and <a href="/facts/Axioms/mLjP14Mc">axioms</a> form the basis on which all of modern mathematics is to be constructed.
</p>

Definition open-in-new

Definition