elasticity

English

Etymology

elastic +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪ.læsˈtɪs.ɪ.ti/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪsɪti

Noun

elasticity (countable and uncountable, plural elasticities)

1. (physics) The property by virtue of which a material deformed under load can regain its original dimensions when unloaded
2. (economics) The sensitivity of changes in a quantity with respect to changes in another quantity.

   If the sales of an item drop by 5% when the price increases by 10%, its price elasticity is −0.5.

   • 2022 November 30, Anthony Lambert, “Rail fares fit for the 21st century”, in RAIL, number 971, page 43:

     Given elasticity of demand, there is a strong argument that filling the millions of empty seats through lower fares could actually increase revenue.

3. (computing) A measure of the flexibility of a data store's data model and clustering capabilities.
4. (computing) A system's ability to adapt to changes in workload by automatically provisioning and de-provisioning resources.
5. (mathematics) The ratio of the relative change in a function's output with respect to the relative change in its input, for infinitesimal changes at a certain point.

   Synonym: point elasticity

6. The quality of being elastic.
7. Adaptability.

   Her elasticity allowed her to recover quickly.

   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World , London, New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     "I'll have a try at it, Gladys, if you will only give me an idea what would please you." She laughed at the elasticity of my character.

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