What does "matrix" mean?
The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
Matrix
/ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
- Grammar: matrix is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: array, aesthetic form, algebraic, archetype.
- Useful contrasts: fedelline, intracellular matrix, nodules.
- Usage evidence: The problem will be easier to solve if you write the system of equations as a matrix.
How to use "matrix"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "matrix" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
- 2 mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface wordnet
- 3 The womb. archaic
"upon conception the inward orifice of the matrix exactly closeth, so that it commonly admitteth nothing after […]"
- 4 the formative tissue at the base of a nail wordnet
- 5 The metaphorical place where something is made, formed, or given birth.
"When it is remembered that ritual dancing was the matrix out of which the Drama sprang, and further that the drama in its inception (as still to-day in India) was an affair of religion and was acted in, or in connection with, the Temples, it becomes easier to understand how all this mass of ceremonial sacrifices, expiations, initiations, Sun and Nature festivals, eucharistic and orgiastic communions and celebrations, mystery-plays, dramatic representations, myths and legends, etc. [...] have practically sprung from the same root: a root deep and necessary in the psychology of Man."
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded wordnet
- 7 The material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.
- 8 (mathematics) a rectangular array of quantities or expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a single element and manipulated according to rules wordnet
- 9 An extracellular matrix, the material or tissue between the cells of animals or plants.
- 10 an enclosure within which something originates or develops wordnet
- 11 Part of the mitochondrion.
- 12 (geology) a mass of fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded wordnet
- 13 The medium in which bacteria are cultured.
- 14 A table of data.
- 15 A rectangular arrangement of numbers or terms having various uses such as transforming coordinates in geometry, solving systems of linear equations in linear algebra and representing graphs in graph theory.
"Theorem (7.5.2) then says that every positive semidefinite matrix is a convex combination of matrices that lie on extreme rays."
- 16 A two-dimensional array.
- 17 Alternative letter-case form of Matrix; a controlled environment or situation in which people behave in ways that conform to pre-determined roles. alt-of, figuratively, slang
"He'd operated on an almost permanent adrenaline high, a byproduct of youth and proficiency, jacked into a custom cyberspace deck that projected his disembodied consciousness into the consensual hallucination that was the matrix."
- 18 A grid-like arrangement of electronic components, especially one intended for information coding, decoding or storage.
"Any type of core or diode matrix used to derive the decoding of these codes would amount to a rather large volume of terminals for just the 17,500 terminals alone."
- 19 A geological matrix.
- 20 The sediment surrounding and including the artifacts, features, and other materials at a site.
- 21 The environment from which a given sample is taken.
- 22 In hot metal typesetting, a mold for casting a letter. historical
- 23 In printmaking, the plate or block used, with ink, to hold the image that makes up the print. historical
- 24 The five simple colours (black, white, blue, red, and yellow) from which all the others are formed.
- 25 A binding agent of composite materials, e.g. resin in fibreglass. material
- 26 Matrix clause is a clause that has another (subordinate) clause embedded within it.
Proper Noun
- 1 A simulated reality to which many humans are connected. In some works created by sentient machines to subdue humans.
"“The matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games,” said the voice-over, “in early graphics programs and military experimentation with cranial jacks.” […] “Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts … A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. […]”"
- 2 A social institution or apparatus perceived as largely deceptive or illusory. figuratively
"They claimed that Paraguay’s accommodating immigration laws have proved attractive to Germans who want to “escape the matrix” and flee the “deep state and one world order”."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The problem will be easier to solve if you write the system of equations as a matrix."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "matrix"?
Common synonyms include: array, aesthetic form, algebraic, archetype, argument, array-based.
How do you use "matrix" in a sentence?
The problem will be easier to solve if you write the system of equations as a matrix.
How do you pronounce "matrix"?
Pronounced /ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English matris, matrice, matrix, from Old French matrice (“pregnant animal”), or from Latin mātrīx (“dam, womb”), both ultimately from māter (“mother”). Doublet of mother from Indo-European ancestor. Slang usage coined with the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix.
Etymology 2
From the 1984 novel Neuromancer and popularized in the 1999 movie The Matrix. See matrix for further etymology.