function
Americannoun
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functions
plural
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the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role.
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any ceremonious public or social gathering or occasion.
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a factor related to or dependent upon other factors.
Price is a function of supply and demand.
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Mathematics.
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Also called correspondence, map, mapping, transformation. a relation between two sets in which one element of the second set is assigned to each element of the first set, as the expression y = x 2 ; operator.
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Also called multiple-value function. a relation between two sets in which two or more elements of the second set are assigned to each element of the first set, as y 2 = x 2 , which assigns to every x the two values y = + x and y = − x.
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a set of ordered pairs in which none of the first elements of the pairs appears twice.
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a relationship in which an input value of a variable has a specifically calculated output value: for example, if the function of x is x 2 , the output will always be the square of whatever the value of x is. f, F
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Geometry.
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a formula expressing a relation between the angles of a triangle and its sides, as sine or cosine.
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Grammar.
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the grammatical role a linguistic form has or the position it occupies in a particular construction.
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the grammatical roles or the positions of a linguistic form or form class collectively.
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Sociology. the contribution made by a sociocultural phenomenon to an ongoing social system.
verb (used without object)
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functions,
present (3rd person singular)
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functioned,
past participle, past
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functioning
present participle
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to perform a specified action or activity; work; operate.
The computer isn't functioning now. He rarely functions before noon.
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to have or exercise a function; serve.
In earlier English the present tense often functioned as a future. This orange crate can function as a chair.
noun
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the natural action or intended purpose of a person or thing in a specific role
the function of a hammer is to hit nails into wood
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an official or formal social gathering or ceremony
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a factor dependent upon another or other factors
the length of the flight is a function of the weather
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Also called: map, mapping. maths logic a relation between two sets that associates a unique element (the value) of the second (the range) with each element (the argument) of the first (the domain): a many-one relation. Symbol: f( x ) The value of f( x ) for x = 2 is f(2)
verb
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to operate or perform as specified; work properly
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(foll by as) to perform the action or role (of something or someone else)
a coin may function as a screwdriver
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A relationship between two sets that matches each member of the first set with a unique member of the second set. Functions are often expressed as an equation, such as y = x + 5, meaning that y is a function of x such that for any value of x, the value of y will be 5 greater than x.
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A quantity whose value depends on the value given to one or more related quantities. For example, the area of a square is a function of the length of its sides.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prefunctionnoun
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subfunctionnoun
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superfunctionnoun
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refunctionverb (used without object)
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functionlessadjective
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interfunctionadjective
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multifunctionadjective
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nonfunctioningadjective
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overfunctioningadjective
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unfunctioningadjective
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well-functioningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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functionsimple
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functionssimple
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have functionedperfect
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has functionedperfect
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am functioningprogressive
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are functioningprogressive
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is functioningprogressive
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have been functioningperfect progressive
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has been functioningperfect progressive
Past
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functionedsimple
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had functionedperfect
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was functioningprogressive
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were functioningprogressive
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had been functioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of function
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin functiōn- (stem of functiō ) “a performance, execution,” equivalent to funct(us) (past participle of fungī ) “performed, executed” + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
In the old "Schoolhouse Rock" song, "Conjunction junction, what's your function?," the word function means, "What does a conjunction do?" The famous design dictum "form follows function" tells us that an object's design should reflect what it does. Function is one of those words that gets used a lot and means lots of different things. It means what something does, but also what a person does, whether something or someone is doing what they should, and crazily enough, a big party. "Your function is to bring the senator coffee at the political function. He cannot function without it."
Vocabulary lists containing function
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 6
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The next day, the data-analytics startup Databricks unveiled a function called ai_decide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"For most healthy people, regular movement, exercise and staying hydrated are all that's needed to support normal lymphatic function," he says.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“They’re primarily insectivorous here in the United States, and so they’re just going out to eat, and they’re performing this vital function for us,” Curtis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Kreider has previously emphasized creatine's importance throughout the lifespan, including its potential value for older adults facing age-related declines in muscle mass and cognitive function.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
That response is predictable because most people assume that racism, and racial systems generally, are fundamentally a function of attitudes.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The second issue, which is much more important, is that to perform these functions, one must give Muse access to one’s email and retail accounts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
For five months, the creatures will not eat or drink, slowing all bodily functions as they shelter away from the harsh Alaskan weather.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The software glitch could cause an automated navigation feature to fail, potentially forcing pilots to fly manually without some autopilot functions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
When basic government functions are carried out visibly and consistently, they can seem extraordinary - particularly because so many people have come to expect otherwise.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“There are bathrooms on this car for a reason. We can’t expect all of them to stop having bodily functions, can we?”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
At first, the account functioned like a group chat for local surfers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
And while some safety systems were absent, he said the gas detectors apparently functioned as they should do, triggering an automatic shut down of the fuel supply.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
The reassignment is part of broader organizational changes that have the effect of making DeepMind—which Google acquired in 2014 and has functioned as a semiautonomous operation—more tightly integrated with the rest of the company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the years following its acquisition by Google, the London-based DeepMind primarily functioned as an independent research entity instead of a integrated product unit.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
On these occasions, the regent was surrounded by his amapbakathi, a group of councilors of high rank who functioned as the regent’s parliament and judiciary.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In both diseases, particular hindbrain neurons progressively stop functioning.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
“There’s no systemic risk and as of now, markets are functioning as they should,” Simsek said in an interview on Friday with Turkey’s NTV, a national news channel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
However, Atak was seen during 90 minutes of aerial footage to be piloting the vessel using its one remaining functioning engine, the court heard.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Seeley and his colleagues demonstrated how personality is, at least partly, brought into being by neurons that are specifically tailored to synthesize social functioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“We can’t send the last functioning Glitchers our nation has back to the past to hunt for explosives,” he said.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
