Infinity

/ɪnˈfɪnəti/ noun

Definition

Infinity is the idea of something that goes on forever and has no end, such as numbers or space. In math, it’s used as a concept rather than a regular number.

Etymology

It comes from Latin “infinitas,” meaning “boundlessness” or “endlessness,” from “infinitus” (infinite). The symbol ∞ was introduced in the 17th century, possibly inspired by a bent figure eight or a snake eating its tail.

Kelly Says

Infinity is not just “a really big number”—it’s what happens when numbers never stop. Strangely, there are as many even numbers as there are whole numbers, even though that seems impossible. Infinity breaks our normal sense of size and counting, which is exactly why it’s so useful in advanced math and physics.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.