equivalent

Alternative forms

• æquivalent (archaic)
• eq. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From equi- +‎ -valent. From Latin aequivalentem, accusative singular of aequivalēns, present active participle of aequivaleō (“I am equivalent, have equal power”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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• IPA^(key): /ɪˈkwɪvələnt/

Adjective

equivalent (comparative more equivalent, superlative most equivalent)

1. Similar or identical in value, meaning or effect; virtually equal.

   Synonym: on a par

   To burn calories, a thirty-minute jog is equivalent to a couple of hamburgers.

   • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:

     For now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial, are terms equivalent.

   • 2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:

     A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.

2. (mathematics) Of two sets, having a one-to-one correspondence.

   Synonym: equinumerous

   • c. 2005, P N Gupta Kulbhushan, Comprehensive MCQ's in Mathematics, page 3:

     Finite sets A and B are equivalent sets only when n(A) = n(B) i.e., the number of elements in A and B are equal.

   • 1950, E. Kamke, Theory of Sets, page 16:

     All enumerable sets are equivalent to each other, but not to any finite set.

   • 2000, N. L. Carothers, Real Analysis, page 18:

     Equivalent sets should, by rights, have the same "number" of elements. For this reason we sometimes say that equivalent sets have the same cardinality.

   • 2006, Joseph Breuer, Introduction to the Theory of Sets, page 41:

     The equivalence theorem: If both M is equivalent to a subset N₁ of N and N is equivalent to a subset M₁ of M, then the sets M and N are equivalent to each other.

3. (mathematics) Relating to the corresponding elements of an equivalence relation.
4. (mathematics, category theory) Of two categories, (informally) such that one is essentially a relabeling of the other; (formally) related by a pair of functors such the composition of the one with the other is naturally isomorphic to the identity functor.
5. (chemistry) Having the equal ability to combine.
6. (cartography) Of a map, equal-area.
7. (geometry) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; applied to magnitudes.

   A square may be equivalent to a triangle.

Noun

equivalent (plural equivalents)

1. Anything that is virtually equal to something else, or has the same value, force, etc.

   Coordinate term: counterpart

   • 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VII, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     He owned that, if the Test Act were repealed, the Protestants were entitled to an equivalent, and went so far as to suggest several equivalents.

   • 1977 April 18, Jimmy Carter, President's Address to the Nation on Proposed National Energy Policy:

     Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war" — except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.

2. (chemistry) An equivalent weight.

Verb

equivalent (third-person singular simple present equivalents, present participle equivalenting, simple past and past participle equivalented)

1. (transitive) To make equivalent to; to equal.