English Reference
Noun

modulus

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˈmɔdʒuɫʊs/ UK /mˈɒdjʊləs/ mod·u·lus Computing Mathematics Physics Programming

n.the remainder left over after you divide one number by another. In programming, it helps you find if a number is even or odd.

n.the remainder of a division operation. In mathematics and computer science, it is often used to determine the parity of a number or to cycle through a sequence of values.


SIMPLE

The modulus of 10 divided by 3 is 1.

CONTEXTUAL

By using the modulus operator, the program checks if the current year is a leap year by seeing if it is divisible by 4.

COMPLEX

In modular arithmetic, the modulus defines the size of the set of integers, effectively creating a circular number line where values wrap around after reaching a specific maximum.


Learned borrowing from French module as Latin modulus. Doublet of module and mold.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin modulus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated