Definitions for characteristic
ˌkær ɪk təˈrɪs tɪkchar·ac·ter·is·tic

Princeton's WordNet(3.45 / 20 votes)Rate this definition:

1. feature, characteristic(noun)

   a prominent attribute or aspect of something

   "the map showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his best characteristics"

2. characteristic(noun)

   a distinguishing quality

3. characteristic(noun)

   the integer part (positive or negative) of the representation of a logarithm; in the expression log 643 = 2.808 the characteristic is 2

4. characteristic, device characteristic(adj)

   any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions

5. characteristic(adj)

   typical or distinctive

   "heard my friend's characteristic laugh"; "red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn"; "stripes characteristic of the zebra"

Wiktionary(2.71 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. characteristic(Noun)

   a distinguishable feature of a person or thing

   Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

2. characteristic(Noun)

   the integer part of a logarithm

   Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

3. characteristic(Noun)

   the distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc)

   Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

4. characteristic(Noun)

   The minimum number of times that the unit of a field must be added unto itself in order to yield that field's zero, or, if that minimum natural number does not exist, then (the integer) zero.

   Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

5. characteristic(Adjective)

   being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing

   Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

Webster Dictionary(3.40 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Characteristic(adj)

   pertaining to, or serving to constitute, the character; showing the character, or distinctive qualities or traits, of a person or thing; peculiar; distinctive

   Etymology: [Gr. : cf. F. charactristique.]

2. Characteristic(noun)

   a distinguishing trait, quality, or property; an element of character; that which characterized

   Etymology: [Gr. : cf. F. charactristique.]

3. Characteristic(noun)

   the integral part (whether positive or negative) of a logarithm

   Etymology: [Gr. : cf. F. charactristique.]

Freebase(3.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Characteristic

   In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often denoted char, is defined to be the smallest number of times one must use the ring's multiplicative identity element in a sum to get the additive identity element; the ring is said to have characteristic zero if this repeated sum never reaches the additive identity. That is, char is the smallest positive number n such that if such a number n exists, and 0 otherwise. The characteristic may also be taken to be the exponent of the ring's additive group, that is, the smallest positive n such that for every element a of the ring. Some authors do not include the multiplicative identity element in their requirements for a ring, and this definition is suitable for that convention; otherwise the two definitions are equivalent due to the distributive law in rings.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. characteristic

   A specific quality.

   The characteristics were so clear, she was so honest.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 4, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'characteristic' in Nouns Frequency: #904

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'characteristic' in Adjectives Frequency: #691

How to pronounce characteristic?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say characteristic in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of characteristic in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of characteristic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of characteristic in a Sentence

1. Richard Harris:

   Probably the most distinctive characteristic of the successful politician is selective cowardice.

2. Akram Al Deek:

   We are not our age, height, colour, or clothes. We are the books we read. The sweet squeak in our laughter. The tears we cry. The people we accompany. We are the dreams we dream. The pictures on our walls. We should be defined by what we create, not by what we are created with. We should be defined by who we are, not by who we should be. We are our weaknesses and cries. Never the super Mario image we force upon ourselves and is forced upon us by society. We should never be ashamed to cry. The problem rests in crying alone. One of the major problems in our society is the lack of crying publicly. Our fear of the exposition of emotions. Because vulnerability is considered a downfall. A defeat. A crush of the alpha male protagonist image. Whereas in fact vulnerability is a very human characteristic.

3. Jennifer Jones:

   If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of humor.

4. Chris Stantis:

   The most elite had equids of some sort (potentially donkeys) buried outside the tombs, often in pairs as though ready to pull a chariot. This is both a foreign characteristic of burial style, but also suggestive of someone [with] very high status.

5. Fiona Hill:

   This has been characteristic of Donald Trump and Putin the times they've met. We still don't know what they discussed in Finland.

Images & Illustrations of characteristic

Popularity rank by frequency of use