maths

1. 1
   nounCommonwealthuncountableabbreviationclipping

   Clipping of mathematics. Chiefly British and Commonwealth; the US form is math.

   Her favorite subject has always been maths.

   Most people who are forced to use maths have little idea what it is really about.

   2011, Clifford Matthews, IMechE Engineers′ Databook

   Note

   Across the Commonwealth this is the everyday short form, and it keeps the final -s of mathematics. In Canada it turns up only rarely, since math is the usual Canadian clipping. Despite the -s, it is singular and uncountable. You say maths is a subject, never maths are, and you take maths or do maths without an article. Its spelling twin, the plural of math, is a different word. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Maths is a clipping of mathematics that retains its final -s. en.wiktionary.org
   • Maths also exists as the identically spelled plural of math. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   noun

   Plural of math. Rare; used for different kinds or systems of mathematics, not the British word maths.

   Note

   This word is spelled exactly like the Commonwealth short form but is not the same word. It is the regular plural of American, Canadian and Philippine math. Only a countable math can take a plural, so this form counts courses or classes, and it takes a plural verb. A rarer math, meaning a mowing or what the mowing gathers, forms its plural the same way. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Maths is the regular plural of countable math, meaning a mathematics course or class. en.wiktionary.org
   • An archaic noun math means a mowing or what is gathered from mowing, and its plural is maths. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of math. Informal.

   Whenever the budget gets messy, she maths it all out on paper.

   He maths the numbers twice before trusting the result.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is informal, and its meaning shifts with the subject. With a person as subject it means working figures out, as in she maths the budget. With a plan or a claim as subject it is slang for adding up or making sense, as in that excuse barely maths. Keep both uses out of formal writing.

   His story barely maths once you check the dates.

   She maths the totals before the meeting starts.

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