Word
function
Phoneticsfunc·tion
US/ˈfəŋkʃən/
UK/fˈʌŋkʃən/
Definitions
01purpose or use
n. the natural purpose or job of something.
n. the natural purpose of a thing or the specific duty of a person.
“The main function of the heart is to pump blood around the body.”
“The architect argued that the building's aesthetic form should be secondary to its primary function as a community hub.”
02formal event
n. a large, formal party or official meeting.
n. a large or formal social event or official ceremony.
“He had to wear a suit to the charity function at the town hall.”
“The embassy hosted a formal function to celebrate the signing of the new trade agreement between the two nations.”
Formal
03math/computing
n. a rule that relates one amount to another, or a set of instructions in a computer program.
n. a relationship where each input has a single output, or a named section of code that performs a specific task.
“The programmer wrote a new function to calculate the total price automatically.”
“In functional programming, a pure function must return the same output for the same input without causing side effects.”
Technical
04result of something
n. something that happens as a direct result of something else.
n. a variable or factor that depends on and varies with another.
“Success is often a function of hard work and a bit of luck.”
“The researcher noted that the rate of decay was a direct function of the ambient temperature in the laboratory.”
Academic
Synonyms
06to serve as
v. to do the job of something else.
v. to serve a particular purpose or fulfill a specific role. Usually followed by the preposition 'as'.
“During the summer, the sofa functions as a bed for guests.”
“In many ancient societies, myths functioned as a way to explain natural phenomena that were not yet understood by science.”
Etymology
From Middle French function, from Old French fonction, from Latin functiō (“performance, execution”), from functus, perfect participle of fungor (“to perform, execute, discharge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg- (“to enjoy”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Scan code
englishreference.com/q/function