DictionaryAI

parameter

noun
puh-RAM-uh-tur/pəˈɹæm.ə.tɚ/UKpuh-RAM-i-tuh/pəˈɹæm.ɪ.tə/

Pluralparameters

11 meanings of parameter

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A feature that makes one thing different from others.

    Like the color or size that helps you tell two toys apart.

    Color is one parameter we use to tell the two birds apart.

    Size and shape are the main parameters that separate these tools.

    Similarfeature, characteristic, quality, trait, attribute

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A named value that a function expects, filled in with a real value when the program runs.

    Like a blank space on a form that gets filled in when you use it.

    Each function parameter needs a name and a type.

    You can give a function several parameters.

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A value that stays the same during one calculation but can be changed for another.

    Like the oven temperature you set before baking, fixed for one cake, but you can change it for the next.

    In this equation, the growth rate is a parameter we hold steady.

    By trying different parameters, the team compared several versions of the model.

    Similarconstant

    Oppositevariable

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A feature you can measure that tells you how a system or object behaves.

    Like the numbers on a car's dashboard that tell you how it is doing.

    Blood pressure is an important parameter doctors use to describe a patient's health.

    The study measured several parameters of the river, like depth and flow.

    Similarproperty, variable, characteristic, quantity, measure

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable
    A value inside a model that the computer adjusts as it learns from data.

    Like the knobs a machine turns on its own until it gets the answer right.

    A large model can have millions of parameters.

    Training changes each parameter little by little.

    Similarweight

    Note
  6. 6
    nouncountable
    A number that describes a whole group, like its true average.

    Like the real average height of everyone in a country: a true number you can only guess at.

    The population mean is a parameter we usually cannot measure directly.

    Statisticians estimate these parameters from a sample.

    Oppositestatistic

    Note
  7. 7
    nouncountable
    The real value you pass to a function when you call it.

    Like the actual amount you write on a form where it asks for a value.

    She passed the file name as a parameter to the program.

    The command takes two parameters: a date and a name.

    Similarargument

    Note
  8. 8
    nouncountable
    A special length in curves like the ellipse or parabola, found from two related measurements of the curve.

    We calculated the parameter of the parabola from its measurements.

    Two ellipses with the same parameter share a useful property.

    Note
  9. 9
    nouncountable
    In crystals, a set of numbers that compares the three main directions and helps place each flat face.

    The parameter tells us how the crystal's faces line up.

    Different minerals can have different parameters.

    Note
  10. 10
    nouncountable
    In crystals, the basic ratio of axis lengths that is typical for one kind of mineral.

    Each mineral has its own parameter.

    Scientists use the parameter to tell two crystals apart.

    Note
  11. 11
    nounabbreviationclipping
    Clipping of uniformizing parameter. A short way to say the same thing.

    In the proof, he chose a parameter for the local ring.

    Every discrete valuation ring has a parameter.

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of parameter apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Greek words meaning "beside" and "measure," through Latin and French.