prime number
noun
: any integer other than 0 or ± 1 that is not divisible without remainder by any other integers except ± 1 and ± the integer itself
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Rather than guess a prime number, the goal in Nerdle is to guess a (correct) calculation that follows standard order of operations. 
Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 14 Feb. 2022 After an initial transmission of a prime number to mark the message as artificial, Jiang’s message uses the same alien alphabet to introduce our base-10 numeral system and basic mathematics. Daniel Oberhaus, Scientific American, 30 Mar. 2022 Rather than guess a six-letter word, the goal of Primel is to guess a five-digit prime number in just six tries. Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 14 Feb. 2022 There’s a p-adic number system for each prime number: the 2-adics, the 3-adics, the 5-adics, and so on. Quanta Magazine, 7 Sep. 2021 On Prime day, addresses that contain a prime number may water. Star Tribune, 30 July 2021 But scientists still debate why this particular brood of North American cicadas only emerges every 17 years, which, intriguingly, is a prime number. Nuno Castel-branco, Scientific American, 9 July 2021 This happens every 17 years along the East Coast for Brood X of the periodical cicada, three near-identical species of an insect that has figured out that if its life cycle is linked to a prime number, few predators will co-evolve to eat it. Washington Post, 26 May 2021 Kritsky: For many years, it was believed that the long prime number life-cycle was an ideal way to stop predators and parasites intermediate stages to evolve synchrony with the cicadas. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 26 May 2021 See More
Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 14 Feb. 2022 After an initial transmission of a prime number to mark the message as artificial, Jiang’s message uses the same alien alphabet to introduce our base-10 numeral system and basic mathematics. Daniel Oberhaus, Scientific American, 30 Mar. 2022 Rather than guess a six-letter word, the goal of Primel is to guess a five-digit prime number in just six tries. Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 14 Feb. 2022 There’s a p-adic number system for each prime number: the 2-adics, the 3-adics, the 5-adics, and so on. Quanta Magazine, 7 Sep. 2021 On Prime day, addresses that contain a prime number may water. Star Tribune, 30 July 2021 But scientists still debate why this particular brood of North American cicadas only emerges every 17 years, which, intriguingly, is a prime number. Nuno Castel-branco, Scientific American, 9 July 2021 This happens every 17 years along the East Coast for Brood X of the periodical cicada, three near-identical species of an insect that has figured out that if its life cycle is linked to a prime number, few predators will co-evolve to eat it. Washington Post, 26 May 2021 Kritsky: For many years, it was believed that the long prime number life-cycle was an ideal way to stop predators and parasites intermediate stages to evolve synchrony with the cicadas. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 26 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
translation of Late Latin prīmus numerus, translation of Greek prôtos arithmós
First Known Use
1570, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
prime number
noun
: a number (as 2, 3, or 5) that results in a whole number from division only when it is divided by itself or by 1