tetration

Syllables: tetr·at·ion/tɛˈtɹeɪʃn̩/US/tɛˈtɹeɪʃən/

tetration noun: the arithmetic operator consisting of repeated exponentiation, by analogy with exponentiation being repeated multiplication and multiplication being repeated addition, ᵇᵃ denoting a to the power of a to the power of … to the power of a, in which a appears b times.

Noun

tetration (usually uncountable, plural tetrations)

(usually) The arithmetic operator consisting of repeated exponentiation, by analogy with exponentiation being repeated multiplication and multiplication being repeated addition, ᵇᵃ denoting a to the power of a to the power of … to the power of a, in which a appears b times.
- You don't ordinarily hear much about tetration because it is so powerful an operation that tetrating even very small numbers with each other produces inordinately large numbers. A tetration is worked out...1982 May, Rudy Rucker, “All the Numbers”, in Infinity and the Mind: The Science and Philosophy of the Infinite, Boston, Mass.; Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg: Birkhäuser, →ISBN, page 69
- Repeated exponentiation—called tetration—is so rare that a shorthand for it is hardly worth the trouble, appealing only to research mathematicians. Most professional engineers and scientists never encounter tetration, and the shorthand for it is seldom taught anywhere but in mathematics...1993, Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, Joseph Maguire, “One”, in Zero to Lazy Eight: The Romance of Numbers, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 39
Synonyms:

exponential map, hyper4, hyperpower, power tower, superexponentiation

tetration meaning in Marathi and Indonesian

tetration in Marathi

arithmetic operator consisting of repeated exponentiation: टेट्रेशन ṭeṭreśan

tetration in Indonesian

arithmetic operator consisting of repeated exponentiation: tetrasi

Examples of tetration in a sentence

Repeated exponentiation—called tetration—is so rare that a shorthand for it is hardly worth the trouble, appealing only to research mathematicians.1993, Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, Joseph Maguire, “One”, in Zero to Lazy Eight: The Romance of Numbers, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone...
Tetration is usually symbolized with a number drawn to the upper left of another number, as opposed to the upper right used for exponents.2016, Erik Seligman, “Simple Surprises”, in Math Mutation Classics: Exploring Interesting, Fun and Weird Corners of Mathematics, New York...

Synonyms of tetration

Forms of tetration

plural	tetrations

Origin of tetration

PIE word *kʷetwóres From tetra- (prefix meaning ‘four’) + (itera)tion, from the fact that tetration is in fourth place after addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. The word was coined by the English mathematician Reuben Goodstein (1912–1985).

Words formed from tetration

tetrational

Words that rhyme with tetration

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about tetration

What does tetration mean?: Tetration means the arithmetic operator consisting of repeated exponentiation, by analogy with exponentiation being repeated multiplication and multiplication being repeated addition, ᵇᵃ denoting a to the power of a to the power of … to the power of a, in which a appears b times.
What is tetration in Marathi?: Tetration in Marathi is टेट्रेशन (ṭeṭreśan). See Tetration meaning in Marathi.
How do you use tetration in a sentence?: Repeated exponentiation—called tetration—is so rare that a shorthand for it is hardly worth the trouble, appealing only to research mathematicians.
What part of speech is tetration?: Tetration is a noun.
How do you pronounce tetration?: Tetration is pronounced /tɛˈtɹeɪʃn̩/ (UK).
What is the plural of tetration?: The plural of tetration is tetrations.

Words near tetration in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: tetration (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-tetration.wav.

Cite this entry: “tetration.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tetration. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.