# variable

Pronunciation: say "VAIR-ee-uh-buhl" US /ˈvɛɹ.i.ə.bl̩/, UK /ˈvɛə.ɹi.ə.bl̩/, AUS [ˈveː.ɹi.ə.bl̩]

## Adjective

1. Capable of varying, or of being varied by someone.
   - Simple: Able to be changed, or able to change on its own.
   - _The thermostat keeps the room at a variable temperature throughout the day._
   - _Membership fees here are variable and can be adjusted each year._
2. Inclined to change rather than stay the same.
   - Simple: Likely to change from one time to the next.
   - _Reception in this valley is variable, dropping out without warning._
   - _Attendance at the lectures proved variable from week to week._
4. Lacking a single fixed numerical value.
   - Simple: Having no set amount or value.
   - _The reaction proceeds at a variable rate depending on temperature._
   - _Engineers designed the motor to run at variable speeds._
8. Showing diversity, with differences from one case to the next.
   - Simple: Made up of different kinds, not all the same.
   - _The quality of the harvest was variable across the different fields._
   - _Critics gave variable responses, some delighted and others unimpressed._
10. Inclined to depart from the normal or established type.
   - Simple: Tending to differ from the usual or expected kind.
   - _The beetle's coloring is notably variable across its range._
   - _Botanists found the flower's petal count to be variable within a single population._

## Noun

3. A quantity that can take any one of a set of possible values.
   - Simple: A number or amount that can take any value from a set of choices.
   - _Each variable in the model can range over the real numbers._
   - _By isolating one variable, the researchers measured its effect on growth._
5. A thing or factor whose nature or amount is open to change.
   - Simple: Anything that can change or be changed.
   - _Mood is a variable that affects how people respond to questions._
   - _When baking, oven temperature is the variable most likely to ruin a cake._
6. A named location in memory where a program can store values and later read them back.
   - Simple: A named spot in a computer's memory where a program keeps values and reads them back.
   - _Assigning a value to a variable lets the function reuse it later._
   - _The loop updates the counter variable on each pass._
7. A symbol, such as a letter, that stands for a quantity able to take different values.
   - Simple: A letter or sign that stands for a changing number.
   - _Mathematicians often choose x or y as the variable in an equation._
   - _Each variable in the formula is written as a single italic letter._
9. A thing whose value can be either assigned or found out through investigation.
   - Simple: Something whose worth can be set by you or found out.
   - _Treat demand as a variable to be discovered through market testing._
   - _The committee fixed the budget, but staffing remained a variable to be settled later._
11. A star whose apparent brightness changes over time, as seen from Earth.
   - Simple: A star whose brightness changes over time.
   - _Each variable in the catalog is monitored for changes in brightness._
   - _A famous variable in Cetus fades and recovers over roughly eleven months._
12. A wind that shifts direction or varies in force.
   - Simple: A wind that keeps shifting direction or changing in strength.
   - _The log noted a variable through the afternoon, forcing constant trimming of the sails._
   - _A southerly variable replaced the steady breeze by nightfall._
13. Regions of the sea where no steady wind can be relied upon, especially the belts lying between the trade winds.
   - Simple: Areas of the ocean where the wind does not blow in a steady way, often found between the trade winds.
   - _The captain steered wide of the variables, knowing a steady wind was unlikely there._
   - _After the trade winds died, the schooner entered a vast variable and lay becalmed for days._

## Origin

English borrowed this word in the 14th century from Old French variable, which came from Latin variare ('to change'), from varius ('different, various'). It matches English vary plus -able.

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