Sigmoid
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Ellipsis of sigmoid colon. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 2 Ellipsis of sigmoid function. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"If we had the textbook from a hundred years in the future that contains all the simple ideas that actually work, that take so long to identify in practice — the ReLUs instead of sigmoids — for those of us who’ve been following AI for, like, more than the last couple of years and know what I’m taking about there."
- 1 Semi-circular, like the uncial or lunate sigma (similar to English C). archaic
- 2 Curved in two directions, like the letter "S", or the Greek ς (sigma); having a serpentine shape.
- 3 Curved in two directions, like the letter "S", or the Greek ς (sigma); having a serpentine shape.; Exhibiting logistic growth; having a graph that accelerates until it reaches a carrying capacity.
- 4 Relating to the sigmoid colon.
- 1 of or relating to the sigmoid flexure in the large intestine wordnet
- 2 curved in two directions (like the letter S) wordnet
Example
More examples"After his colonoscopy, Tom learned that he had cancer. The surgeon cut out and removed the part of his sigmoid colon in which a tumour had been growing, and with staples she fashioned a new splice from the two shorter and cut-through ends. Because of his good health, he healed quickly and after only three days was discharged from the hospital."
Etymology
Borrowing from Ancient Greek σῑγμοειδής (sīgmoeidḗs, “of the shape of sigma”), from σῖγμᾰ (sîgmă, “sigma”) + -ο- (-o-) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-oid, -like”); Equivalent to sigma + -oid. Compare with French sigmoïde.
Related phrases
More for "sigmoid"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.