function
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.the natural purpose or job of something.
n.the natural purpose of a thing or the specific duty of a person.
Simple“The main function of the heart is to pump blood around the body.”
In context“The architect argued that the building's aesthetic form should be secondary to its primary function as a community hub.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a large, formal party or official meeting.
n.a large or formal social event or official ceremony.
Simple“He had to wear a suit to the charity function at the town hall.”
In context“The embassy hosted a formal function to celebrate the signing of the new trade agreement between the two nations.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
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.
Simple“The programmer wrote a new function to calculate the total price automatically.”
In context“In functional programming, a pure function must return the same output for the same input without causing side effects.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.something that happens as a direct result of something else.
n.a variable or factor that depends on and varies with another.
Simple“Success is often a function of hard work and a bit of luck.”
In context“The researcher noted that the rate of decay was a direct function of the ambient temperature in the laboratory.”
Synonyms - 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
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'.
Simple“During the summer, the sofa functions as a bed for guests.”
In context“In many ancient societies, myths functioned as a way to explain natural phenomena that were not yet understood by science.”
Usage functions like · critical function · effectively function
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.