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# determinant

«determinant» in Mova's school dictionary: **Something that decides or strongly affects what happens…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a determinant, determinants); adjective (determinant — rare)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Something that decides or strongly affects what happens, as in «Sleep is a big determinant of how well you learn». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#m1)

2) (maths) A special number worked out from a square table of numbers (a matrix), used in higher maths; it is not usually taught at primary school. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and health it means a factor: «Diet and exercise are determinants of health». In geography: «Climate is a determinant of where people live». In secondary or university maths, the determinant of a matrix tells, for example, whether a set of equations has one answer. It is a formal, exam-style word.

### examples

- Weather is a key determinant of how many people visit the beach. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x1)
- Practice is the main determinant of how well you play. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x2)
- Scientists studied the determinants of good health. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x3)
- Rainfall is a determinant of which plants can grow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x4)
- In older maths classes you learn to find the determinant of a matrix. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x5)
- Price is often a determinant of what people buy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/#x6)

### note

Formal word; in everyday talk say «factor» or «what decides». Do not confuse with «determined» (having made up your mind) or «deterrent» (something that stops people doing a thing).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «determinant» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/determinant/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.