combinatorial
adjective
com·bi·na·to·ri·al
ˌkäm-bə-nə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 
kəm-ˌbī-nə-,
-(ˌ)bi-
1
: of, relating to, or involving combinations
2
: of or relating to the arrangement of, operation on, and selection of discrete mathematical elements belonging to finite sets or making up geometric configurations
Examples of combinatorial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These types of problems are called ‘combinatorial explosion’ problems, where adding in just a few more inputs can massively increase the compute time.
—
John Koetsier, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
By searching through the combinatorial set of possible arrangements of modular components, our method generates a functional, as-simple-as possible robotic device that is capable of tracking the input motion trajectories.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 6 July 2018
The combinatorial space for the yeast genome — natural or synthetic — is vast; exploring it and tweaking each genetic component individually to understand its purpose and context is impractically slow.
—Quanta Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
The challenge, then, lies in selecting the best move amid this vast combinatorial complexity.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for combinatorial 
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.
John Koetsier, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
By searching through the combinatorial set of possible arrangements of modular components, our method generates a functional, as-simple-as possible robotic device that is capable of tracking the input motion trajectories.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 6 July 2018
The combinatorial space for the yeast genome — natural or synthetic — is vast; exploring it and tweaking each genetic component individually to understand its purpose and context is impractically slow.
—Quanta Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
The challenge, then, lies in selecting the best move amid this vast combinatorial complexity.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for combinatorial
Dictionary Entries Near combinatorial
Cite this Entry
“Combinatorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/combinatorial. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share