permutation

views updated

per·mu·ta·tion / ˌpərmyoŏˈtāshən/ • n. a way, esp. one of several possible variations, in which a set or number of things can be ordered or arranged: his thoughts raced ahead to fifty different permutations of what he must do. ∎  Math. the action of changing the arrangement, esp. the linear order, of a set of items.DERIVATIVES: per·mu·ta·tion·al / -ˈtāshənəl/ adj.

More From encyclopedia.com