matrix
Other forms: matrices; matrixes
At an archaeological dig, the matrix is the soil surrounding the site. Biologists use the phrase "nuclear matrix" to refer to the material left behind after DNA is extracted from a cell's nucleus. A matrix is an environment or structure in which something originates or develops.
Matrix, related to the Latin word for "mother," originally meant "pregnant animal" or "breeding female" and was later generalized to mean "womb." Today, matrix includes any nurturing or supportive setting or substance usually within the fields of math and the sciences — except in the cinematic trilogy starring Keanu Reeves, of course. Matrixes is an acceptable plural form, but you can use matrices if you want to show off your knowledge of Latin noun endings.
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an enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb)
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the formative tissue at the base of a nailtype of:animal tissuethe tissue in the bodies of animals
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the body substance in which tissue cells are embeddedsynonyms: ground substance, intercellular substancetype of:body substancethe substance of the body
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(mathematics) a rectangular array of quantities or expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a single element and manipulated according to rulestypes:correlation matrixa matrix giving the correlations between all pairs of data setsdot matrixa rectangular matrix of dots from which written characters can be formedsquare matrixa matrix with the same number of rows and columnsreal matrixa matrix whose elements are all real numberstransposea matrix formed by interchanging the rows and columns of a given matrixdiagonal matrixa square matrix with all elements not on the main diagonal equal to zerodeterminanta square matrix used to solve simultaneous equationsLatin squarea square matrix of n rows and columns; cells contain n different symbols so arranged that no symbol occurs more than once in any row or columnmagic squarea square matrix of n rows and columns; the first n^2 integers are arranged in the cells of the matrix in such a way that the sum of any row or column or diagonal is the samenonsingular matrixa square matrix whose determinant is not zerosingular matrixa square matrix whose determinant is zerotype of:arrayan orderly arrangement
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(geology) amass of fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded
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mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface
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Vocabulary lists containing matrix
Hit the mother lode and learn these words derived from the Latin root māter and the Greek root metèr, both meaning "mother."
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Review these terms and concepts that may be tested on the ACT Math Test.