func·tion
(fŭngḱshən)
[Latin fūnctiō, fūnctiōn-, performance, execution, from fūnctus past participle of fungī, to perform, execute.]
noun
- The action for which a person or thing is particularly fitted or employed.
- Assigned duty or activity.
- A specific occupation or role: in my function as chief editor.
- An official ceremony or a formal social occasion.
- Something closely related to another thing and dependent on it for its existence, value, or significance: Growth is a function of nutrition.
- Mathematics
- A variable so related to another that for each value assumed by one there is a value determined for the other.
- A rule of correspondence between two sets such that there is a unique element in the second set assigned to each element in the first set.
- Biology The physiological activity of an organ or body part.
- Chemistry The characteristic behavior of a chemical compound, resulting from the presence of a specific functional group.
- Computer Science A procedure within an application.
intransitive verb: -tioned, -tion·ing, -tions.
- To have or perform a function; serve: functioned as ambassador.
derivatives
- funćtion·less
- adjective
synonyms:
function, duty, office, role These nouns denote the actions and activities assigned to, required of, or expected of a person: the function of a teacher; a bank clerk's duty; assumed the office of financial adviser; the role of a parent.
