theorem
n. · v.-
1 proven math statement (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Matha mathematical rule or statement that has been proven to be true using facts and logic.
a mathematical proposition of significant importance that has been demonstrated to be true through a formal proof.
ExampleIn school, we learned how to use Pythagoras' theorem to find the length of a triangle's side.
ExampleThe mathematician spent decades attempting to provide a definitive proof for the theorem, which had remained a conjecture since the seventeenth century.
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2 logical deduction (n.) C1 Advanced Technical Academic Logica statement in logic that follows correctly from a set of starting rules.
a formula or statement within a formal system that is derived from the axioms of that system by applying its rules of inference.
ExampleThe computer program checked if the new statement was a valid theorem of the system.
ExampleIn formal logic, a theorem is distinguished from an axiom by the fact that it must be derived through a sequence of valid transformations.
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3 to make into a theorem (v.) C2 Proficiency Technical Formal Mathto turn a mathematical idea or rule into a formal theorem.
to formulate a proposition or set of observations into a formal mathematical theorem.
ExampleThe researcher attempted to theorem the observed patterns in the data.
ExampleThe author sought to theorem the preliminary findings, though the complexity of the variables made a formal proof exceptionally difficult to construct.
UsageThis verb is rare and almost exclusively found in academic or historical mathematical texts.
- formulate
- codify
From Middle French théorème, from Late Latin theōrēma, from Ancient Greek θεώρημα (theṓrēma, “speculation, proposition to be proved”) (Euclid), from θεωρέω (theōréō, “I look at, view, consider, examine”), from θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator”), from θέα (théa, “a view”) + ὁράω (horáō, “I see, look”). See also theory, and theater.