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Mathematics vocabulary · Numbers and Operations

Square root

Meaning in mathematics, with examples

nounCore term

In mathematics, square root means: A number that gives a particular value when it is multiplied by itself; the square root of 49 is 7, because 7 × 7 = 49.

In Turkish: karekök

How it is used

You find, take or calculate a square root. The symbol √ is called the radical sign or root sign, and √9 is read 'the square root of nine' or simply 'root nine'. Every positive number has two square roots, but √ means the positive one.

Example sentences

  1. The square root of 50 is between 7 and 8.

  2. Take the square root of both sides, and remember the plus or minus.

Common collocations

  • the square root of
  • take the square root
  • square root sign
  • cube root
  • squaredMultiplied by itself; used to read a power of 2 aloud, so x² is 'x squared' and 5² = 25 is 'five squared is twenty-five'.
  • rootA value of the variable that makes an equation or polynomial equal to zero; the roots of x² − 5x + 6 = 0 are 2 and 3.
  • exponentThe small raised number that shows how many times a base is multiplied by itself; in 2⁵, the exponent is 5 and the base is 2.
  • to the power ofRaised to a given exponent; used to read powers aloud, so 2⁵ is 'two to the power of five', which means 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32.

More terms: Numbers and Operations

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