discrete
Often confused with discreet
- 1Separate and distinct from one another, existing as individual units rather than as parts of a continuous or connected whole.
The course is divided into discrete modules that students can take in any order.
The colors of a rainbow blend into one another instead of forming discrete bands.
UsageNot the same as discreet (tactful): discrete stages, but a discreet question. Usually goes before the noun.
Similarseparate, distinct, individual
Oppositecontinuous, connected
Note
The Latin behind it, discretus, means "divided" or "sifted apart", and that is still the whole idea: units that stand on their own instead of running together. Emerson could place it after the noun, "two laws discrete", but modern English puts it before: discrete units, discrete stages.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Discrete derives from Latin discretus, with the underlying sense of division or sifting apart. en.wiktionary.org
- Emerson wrote "two laws discrete", placing discrete after the noun. en.wikisource.org
- 2Consisting of, or allowing only, separate values taken from a countable set, finite or infinite, rather than from a continuous range.
Shoe sizes form a discrete scale, while the length of a foot is continuous.
The model replaces the integral with a discrete sum over the sampled points.
Oppositecontinuous
Note
Mathematicians set discrete against continuous. A discrete quantity moves in countable steps, like shoe sizes or the number of heads in a run of coin tosses, while a continuous one, such as length or time, can take any value in between. That is why a discrete sum stands where a continuous problem would need an integral.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Mathematics distinguishes discrete quantities with countable possible values from continuous quantities. morrison-lab.github.io
- Shoe sizes are an example of discrete values. bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com
- The number of heads in a run of coin tosses is discrete. morrison-lab.github.io
- Continuous quantities such as length and time can take intermediate values throughout a range. open.edu
- Summation in discrete problems corresponds to integration in continuous problems. amsi.org.au
- 3Obsolete form of discreet, still common today as a misspelling of it.
Note
Older writers used this spelling for being careful with secrets or quietly unobtrusive, before the two words settled into separate forms. Reading earlier texts, expect either spelling for either sense.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Discrete was formerly a spelling of discreet. en.wiktionary.org
- The historical spellings were not consistently distinguished by meaning. en.wiktionary.org
- 4Built from separate electronic components, such as individual diodes, transistors and resistors, rather than from integrated circuitry.
The amplifier uses a fully discrete design, with no integrated circuits anywhere in the signal path.
The repair was easy because the old power supply was discrete, and each part could be replaced on its own.
Oppositeintegrated
Note
Electronics uses the word for the parts as well as the whole: a discrete transistor or resistor comes in its own package, and a discrete design is built from such parts wired together. The contrast is the integrated circuit, where many components are formed together on one chip. Audio enthusiasts often praise amplifiers with a fully discrete signal path.
- 5Describing a topological space, or its topology, in which every one-point subset is an open set.
Every function from a discrete space into another topological space is continuous.
The integers, with the topology they inherit from the real line, form a discrete space.
Note
Topology's most generous case: once every single point is an open set, every subset is open too, because any union of open sets is open. That makes the discrete topology the finest a set can carry, and it is why every function out of such a space is continuous. The integers sitting inside the real line are the standard picture.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- If every singleton is open, every subset is open. planetmath.org
- Arbitrary unions of open sets are open. maths.dur.ac.uk
- The discrete topology is the finest topology on a given set. en.wikipedia.org
- Every function from a discrete space to any topological space is continuous. en.wikipedia.org
- The integers inherit the discrete topology as a subspace of the real line. maths.dur.ac.uk
- 6Having separate and independent audio channels, rather than multiplexed stereo, quadraphonic or other multichannel sound.
The concert film was released with a discrete surround mix, giving every speaker its own independent channel.
Engineers preferred discrete recordings because multiplexed formats let sound from one channel bleed into another.
Note
The point of contrast is matrixed sound, in which several channels are combined into fewer channels and are pulled apart again on playback, so they are never wholly independent. Discrete channels remain separately identifiable, even when carried together in one digital bitstream and separated during decoding.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Channels reconstructed by matrix decoding are not fully independent. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meaning
- 7Disjunctive in form, containing a disjunctive or discretive clause that sets one term apart from or against another.
"I resign my life, but not my honour" is a discrete proposition.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of discrete apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Latin discernō ("divide"), made of dis- and cernō ("sift"), had the past participle discrētus. That gave Old French discret, the source of the English word, which is a doublet of discreet.