plural lemmas or lemmata
ˈle-mə-tə 
1
: an auxiliary proposition used in the demonstration of another proposition
2
: the argument or theme of a composition prefixed as a title or introduction
also
: the heading or theme of a comment or note on a text
3
: a glossed word or phrase
: the lower of the two bracts enclosing the flower in the spikelet of grasses
Examples of lemma in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
As a result, mathematicians tended to keep their discoveries to themselves, deploying their theorems, corollaries and lemmas only to win intellectual battles.
—Marc-Olivier Renou, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023
In the 1970s, Lovász collaborated with Erdős to devise a complementary technique, called the Lovász local lemma, that works for proving the existence of graphs that are very rare.
—Quanta Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021
The consequence of this lemma is that any object in any category is entirely determined by its relation to the other objects in the category as encoded by the transformations to or from this object.
—Emily Riehl, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2021
While working on one of them, Morel realized her proof called for a lemma — a type of short steppingstone result — that mathlib didn’t have.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
This property is implied by another statement called Zorn’s lemma and sounds abstract, but physicists and mathematicians refer to it time and again.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
As a result, mathematicians tended to keep their discoveries to themselves, deploying their theorems, corollaries and lemmas only to win intellectual battles.
—Marc-Olivier Renou, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023
In the 1970s, Lovász collaborated with Erdős to devise a complementary technique, called the Lovász local lemma, that works for proving the existence of graphs that are very rare.
—Quanta Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021
The consequence of this lemma is that any object in any category is entirely determined by its relation to the other objects in the category as encoded by the transformations to or from this object.
—Emily Riehl, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2021
While working on one of them, Morel realized her proof called for a lemma — a type of short steppingstone result — that mathlib didn’t have.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near lemma
Cite this Entry
“Lemma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lemma. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share