# infinite

Pronunciation: say "IN-fi-nit" /ˈɪnfᵻnɪt/

## Adjective

1. Having no limits or end, or too many to be counted.
   - Simple: Having no end or limit, or too many to count.
   - _Some cosmologists argue that space is infinite, with no edge anywhere._
   - _Many believers describe God's mercy as infinite._
2. So large or so great that it seems beyond measuring or counting.
   - Simple: So big or so great that it seems impossible to measure or count.
   - _The museum's new owner had seemingly infinite wealth and spent it freely._
   - _Restoring the torn manuscript demanded infinite patience._
3. Used with a plural noun to mean infinitely many, without any limit in number.
   - Simple: Used before a plural noun to mean so many that there is no end to them.
   - _Given infinite chances, even a hopeless player would eventually win._
   - _Two mirrors facing each other produce infinite reflections._
4. In mathematics, larger than every positive quantity or magnitude, and so without any limit.
   - Simple: In math, bigger than any number or amount you can name, with no limit.
   - _The integral diverges, so the area under the curve is infinite._
   - _In this model the resistance becomes infinite when the switch is open._
6. Of a set, containing infinitely many elements rather than a finite number of them.
   - Simple: In math, describes a set that has no end to the number of things in it.
   - _Euclid's argument shows that the set of prime numbers is infinite._
   - _An infinite set of points can fit inside a segment only one inch long._
7. In grammar, not restricted to a particular person or number.
   - Simple: In grammar, not tied to any one person (I, you, she) or number (one or many).
   - _In 'She wants to leave,' the verb 'leave' is infinite, while 'wants' agrees with its subject._
   - _Infinite verb forms look the same whatever the subject, so 'to be' never becomes 'to is.'_
8. Of a canon, able to repeat endlessly because its end leads back into its beginning.
   - Simple: Of a certain kind of music, able to repeat forever because the end leads back to the start.
   - _The composer closed the suite with an infinite canon whose last bar flows straight back into the first._
   - _Because the round is infinite, the singers must agree in advance on when to stop._

## Noun

5. Something whose nature is to be infinite, without limit or end.
   - Simple: Something that has no end or limit by its nature.
   - _Mystics often describe a longing to touch the infinite._
   - _Medieval philosophers argued over whether two infinites could ever be compared._
9. In video games, a combo that can be repeated over and over without interruption.
   - Simple: In video games, a set of moves you can keep doing again and again without being stopped.
   - _Players found an infinite in the corner that kept opponents trapped until they lost._
   - _The developers patched out both infinites within a week of release._

## Origin

From Middle English infinite, from Old French infinit and its source, Latin īnfīnītus, formed from in- ("not") + fīnis ("end") + the perfect passive participle ending -ītus; it can also be analysed as in- + finite. It is a doublet of infinito and displaced the native Old English unġeendodlīċ.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/infinite (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).