Making Meaning in Math: Math Vocabulary

4x4 is 16, which is an even number. It makes a square array, which is even on all sides. Even if you factorize 16 down to its primes, you will see it is made of the only even prime number, 2. 

The way we use words in math is crucial for helping students to build meaning, and to communicate their ideas with clarity. In the quote above, we can see how the mathematical definition of “even” can easily be lost when we use the more common contexts for the word. Students come in with pre-existing connections to words that when used in math, have a different definition. Modeling for students how to be precise in the use of their math language is key for supporting their ability to understand new concepts, and explain their thinking.

Here is a list of some words to differentiate how they are used in math vs. in common or everyday language. For some words, I referenced the math definitions provided by mathisfun.com, and the common meaning definitions are from Merriam Webster’s learnersdictionary.com 

Try doing this activity with your students to support their language and math development. Challenge them to find even more examples to add to the list!

*The definitions selected for Common Meanings were chosen specifically to show contrast with the Math Meanings. The definitions provided here are not meant to be inclusive of all definitions for the words. 

What are some other words with different meanings in and outside of math that you can think of?