Home UK English maths

Meaning of maths in English:

maths

Pronunciation /maθs/

Translate maths into Spanish

plural noun

British treated as singular

  • Mathematics.

    as modifier ‘her mother was a maths teacher’
    • ‘He succeeded at bridge and his maths and mental arithmetic scores jumped by two years.’
    • ‘He corrects some maths and mathematical terms and gets a less dramatic result.’
    • ‘Of course, no class on maths and the visual arts would be complete without fractals.’
    • ‘We also use maths in this situation to establish the limitations of the model and accuracy of the answer.’
    • ‘If they find they can't do it at school, they might come to dread the weekly maths lessons and tests.’
    • ‘One school of thought is that we should study maths because employers want it.’
    • ‘An easy way to prove this result is by induction, if you have covered that method in your maths classes.’
    • ‘It will certainly generate enthusiasm for maths, and the web site is fun to use.’
    • ‘The final way that maths could make you rich and famous is the main subject of this article.’
    • ‘This is exactly what we shall do here to try to get a feel for why maths is so useful.’
    • ‘Both are maths teachers and were the main influence on her choice of career.’
    • ‘I once spent a very miserable year with a maths teacher who delighted in picking on me above all others.’
    • ‘Maybe I was just bitter because I actually had to listen to our maths teacher for once.’
    • ‘He clearly relishes his role as the maths teacher we all wish we'd had at school.’
    • ‘Both have been fascinated by maths, computers and programming from an early age.’
    • ‘The question on a maths paper was said to be impossible to answer because the diagrams were wrong.’
    • ‘A degree in maths and computer science has also had its influence on the production.’
    • ‘This time I went for the triangle model which took a lot of mental maths and figuring out.’
    • ‘A good standard of maths is also required as there is a high mathematical content to the course.’
    • ‘The main teacher shortages are for subjects such as maths and design and technology.’
    arithmetical problem, problem, calculation, reckoning, tally, question

Phrases

    do the maths
    British informal

    • often in imperative Make a calculation or come to a conclusion based on the relevant facts and figures, typically with the implication that the result is or should be obvious.

      • ‘I have four children and one on the way; you do the maths’
      • ‘Your cut-price carrier ticket is around a third of the price of the full fare—do the maths.’
      • ‘Just do the maths: most people I know will be really out of pocket, by several thousand dollars a year.’
      • ‘I'll leave you to do the maths on that one, and to work out for yourself whether 10% is a "rapid" rate of depreciation.’
      • ‘This year's expected yield of 10,000 pounds of plums is enough to feed—well, you do the maths.’
      • ‘When I finally got back to Victoria it was quarter past eight, we were supposed to be due in at half five. You do the maths!’

Origin

Early 20th century abbreviation.