heuristic — enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves, often through trial and error rather than following fixed rules
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves, often through trial and error rather than following fixed rules
Pronunciation (IPA): /hjʊˈrɪstɪk/
Example Sentences
- Instead of checking every possible route, GPS apps use heuristic algorithms to quickly guess the fastest path.
- When I can't remember a word's meaning, I use the heuristic 'if it sounds French, it's probably fancy.'
- My mom's heuristic for cooking is 'if it smells good, it's probably done' — which explains a lot about our dinners.
heuristic
ADJECTIVE[/hjʊˈrɪstɪk/]
enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves, often through trial and error rather than following fixed rules
She uses a heuristic to guess the answer quickly instead of solving every step.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Greek 'heuriskein' meaning 'to find' or 'to discover' — the same root that gave us the word 'Eureka!'
Breakdown
heur- (find, discover) + -istic (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“Instead of checking every possible route, GPS apps use heuristic algorithms to quickly guess the fastest path.”
“When I can't remember a word's meaning, I use the heuristic 'if it sounds French, it's probably fancy.'”
“My mom's heuristic for cooking is 'if it smells good, it's probably done' — which explains a lot about our dinners.”
“Researchers found that people often rely on the availability heuristic, judging risk based on how easily examples come to mind.”
📚Related Words
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