Matrix

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Matrix. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Matrix, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Matrix in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Matrix you have here. The definition of the word Matrix will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofMatrix, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: matrix and mátrix

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From the 1984 novel Neuromancer and popularized in the 1999 movie The Matrix.

Proper noun

the Matrix

  1. (science fiction) A simulated reality to which many humans are connected. In some works created by sentient machines to subdue humans.
    • 1984, William Gibson, chapter 3, in Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 51:
      “The matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games,” said the voice-over, “in early graphics programs and military experimentation with cranial jacks.” [] “Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts … A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. []
    • 2009 September 23, possum, “Re: In which the Trollpa evinzes hizzelf aza profezzional nuizzance”, in talk.religion.buddhism (Usenet), message-ID <[email protected]>:
      Now some folks want to claim that we're in the Matrix right now (or that the physical world is an illusion).
    • 2017, Chuck Lorre Productions #557 (post-episode text), "The Recollection Dissipation", The Big Bang Theory
      Recent events have made it abundantly clear that the fabric of the universe is unraveling. Reality as you know it, the matrix if you will, is dissolving.
  2. (figurative) A social institution or apparatus perceived as largely deceptive or illusory.
    • 2022 January 27, William Costa, “German-speaking Covid denialists seek to build paradise in Paraguay”, in The Guardian:
      They claimed that Paraguay’s accommodating immigration laws have proved attractive to Germans who want to “escape the matrix” and flee the “deep state and one world order”.

Derived terms

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mātrīx. Doublet of Matrize.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /maːtrɪks/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Matrix f (genitive Matrix, plural Matrizen or Matrizes or Matrices)

  1. (mathematics) matrix

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Turkish: matriks

Further reading