algorithm
An algorithm is a finite list of exact steps that, followed in order, turns starting data into a result, such as a sorted list or a route.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Definitions
- A fixed sequence of precise instructions that solves a problem or completes a task in a limited number of steps.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In computing, such a procedure written so that a machine can carry it out, for example to sort, search or rank information.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In older usage, the art of reckoning with the nine digits and zero.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Examples
- The recipe works like an algorithm: do each step in order and you get the same cake every time.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - The new search algorithm returns results twice as fast on the same hardware.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - Critics argue that the hiring algorithm repeats old biases found in its training data.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Usage
Algorithm belongs to mathematics and computer science, but it has moved into everyday talk about apps and social media, where the phrase the algorithm usually means the hidden rules that choose what a person sees. In that sense the word often sounds vague or slightly suspicious, while in technical writing it names one clearly defined procedure.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)The noun is countable and takes the regular plural algorithms. It combines with verbs such as design, implement, run and apply, and with prepositions in two common patterns: an algorithm for a task, as in an algorithm for sorting names, and an algorithm that does something. The adjective is algorithmic, as in algorithmic trading.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)A common mistake is to treat algorithm as a synonym for program or software. A program is code written in a particular language, while an algorithm is the method behind it and can be described in plain words or on paper. Another slip is the spelling algorythm, which is wrong; the ending is spelt -rithm.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Word forms
Regular forms according to English morphology (editorial description).
word forms
| przypadek | forma |
|---|---|
| singular | algorithm |
| plural | algorithms |
Word forms: Editorial team
Collocations
- search algorithm
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - sorting algorithm
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - design an algorithm
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - run an algorithm
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Synonyms · Antonyms
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Etymology
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open sourceRelated words
- algorism , older form
- augrim , obsolete form
- algorithmic , adjective
Related entries
Questions and answers
What is an algorithm in simple terms?
It is a step by step method for getting from a question to an answer. Each step is exact, the steps come in a set order, and the list ends. A recipe, the long division you learnt at school and the way a map app picks a route are all examples of the same idea.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Is an algorithm the same as a computer program?
No. The algorithm is the method, and the program is one way of writing that method for a machine. The same algorithm can be coded in many languages or simply carried out with a pencil, which is why textbooks often describe algorithms in ordinary sentences before showing any code.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)What do people mean by the algorithm on social media?
They mean the set of rules a platform uses to decide which posts to show and in what order. The rules are usually secret and change often, so the phrase tends to describe an unseen force rather than one specific procedure that anyone outside the company can inspect.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Where does the word algorithm come from?
It goes back to the name of a ninth century author of a book on arithmetic, known as al-Khowarezmi. Latin translations of such books were called algorismus, which gave the older English algorism. According to Webster, the spelling with th came from a mistaken link with a Greek word.