Mathematics or maths?
mathematics is a noun meaning “An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures…”; maths is a noun meaning “plural of math”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) mathematics is about 2.5 times as common as maths.
What is the difference between mathematics and maths?
| mathematics | maths | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Meaning | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them A person's ability to count, calculate, and use different systems of mathematics at differing levels | |
| Example | My mathematics is always improving | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ [mæθ(.ə)ˈmæɾ.ɪks] | /mæθs/ /maks/ /mæs/ |
| In writing | 14 times per million words | 5.6 times per million words |
Sources: mathematics and maths in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of mathematics and maths
mathematics
- 1
An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them
- 2
A person's ability to count, calculate, and use different systems of mathematics at differing levels
My mathematics is always improving
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, mathematics or maths?
mathematics appears 14 times per million words; maths 5.6 times per million words.
mathematics 14 times per million wordsmaths 5.6 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).