Equivalent

/ɪˈkwɪvələnt/ · adjective

Meaning

Similar or identical in value, meaning or effect; virtually equal..

Definitions by Sense

1. Similar or identical in value, meaning or effect; virtually equal.
2. (mathematics) Of two sets, having a one-to-one correspondence.
3. (mathematics) Relating to the corresponding elements of an equivalence relation.
4. (mathematics, category theory) Of two categories, (informally) such that one is essentially a relabeling of the other; (formally) related by a pair of functors such the composition of the one with the other is naturally isomorphic to the identity functor.
5. (chemistry) Having the equal ability to combine.
6. (cartography) Of a map, equal-area.
7. (geometry) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; applied to magnitudes.
8. Anything that is virtually equal to something else, or has the same value, force, etc.

Example Sentences

To burn calories, a thirty-minute jog is equivalent to a couple of hamburgers.

For now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial, are terms equivalent.

A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.

Total activity levels in the lowest quartile were equivalent to walking for 49 minutes at roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) per hour daily. Total activity levels in the second-, third- and fourth-highest quartiles were equivalent to 78, 105 and 160 minutes, respectively.

All enumerable sets are equivalent to each other, but not to any finite set.

Equivalent sets should, by rights, have the same "number" of elements. For this reason we sometimes say that equivalent sets have the same cardinality.

Finite sets A and B are equivalent sets only when n(A) = n(B) i.e., the number of elements in A and B are equal.

The equivalence theorem: If both M is equivalent to a subset N₁ of N and N is equivalent to a subset M₁ of M, then the sets M and N are equivalent to each other.

Synonyms for equivalent

Antonyms for equivalent

Related Words

Word Forms

• more equivalent
• most equivalent
• æquivalent
• eq.
• equivalents
• equivalenting
• equivalented

Usage Notes

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