How to Use number theory in a Sentence

number theory

noun
  • The abstract world of number theory holds power in the world of physics.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Quanta Magazine, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Maynard explained the number theory side of the story to him over lunch and gave him a test case to work with.
    — Jordana Cepelewicz, WIRED, 4 Aug. 2024
  • On one side of the link was a fundamental object in number theory called the j-function.
    — Julie Rehmeyer, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2015
  • Finite fields are a place where number theory and geometry begin to blend.
    — Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2024
  • Then along came Larsen with a new proof about just that, one inspired by recent epochal work in a different area of number theory.
    — Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 13 Oct. 2022
  • Patience is required in number theory, where the questions are often easy to state but difficult to solve.
    — Quanta Magazine, 10 Sep. 2020
  • So for example, number theory is the study of numbers and their arithmetic properties, things like primes.
    — Quanta Magazine, 25 June 2026
  • Dance can be used to help teach number theory, visual arts to improve reading comprehension.
    — oregonlive, 8 Nov. 2021
  • String theory and number theory have common ground in a specific kind of elliptic curve from a torus.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2020
  • These have been central to number theory since the days of Euclid in Ancient Greece.
    — David Szondy, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2024
  • The story takes place in the mathematical field of number theory.
    — Quanta Magazine, 7 Dec. 2017
  • Has one of the major outstanding problems in number theory finally been solved?
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 6 Apr. 2020
  • Like primes, smooth numbers come up all over number theory, and results about their level of distribution and that of the primes often go hand in hand.
    — Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023
  • From zero sprang the laws of the universe, number theory and modern mathematics.
    — Quanta Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
  • Arithmetic progressions are involved in the study of prime numbers, the elusive building blocks of number theory.
    — Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, 5 Dec. 2018
  • Most translations from the geometry column to the number theory column pass through function fields along the way.
    — Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024
  • Quite a bit of my work does have to do with elliptic curves, which are very natural objects in number theory and arithmetic geometry.
    — Quanta Magazine, 22 Nov. 2022
  • Zhang worked single-handedly on the twin prime conjecture for years—number theory was not actually part of his research area.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 7 June 2024
  • There was probability in one classroom and pre-algebra next door, code-breaking down the hall and number theory around the corner.
    — Ben Cohen, WSJ, 14 July 2022
  • Granville, who is writing a book on analytic number theory, complained that Maynard has greatly slowed his progress.
    — Quanta Magazine, 1 July 2020
  • But recently that progress accelerated, blown ahead on the broader trade winds advancing number theory as a whole.
    — Quanta Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022
  • His goal was to create a dictionary that would translate between dynamical systems and number theory.
    — Quanta Magazine, 22 Feb. 2021
  • In the 19th century, research on these kinds of statements led to the development of much of modern number theory.
    — Joseph Howlett, WIRED, 19 Jan. 2025
  • For example, two of the biggest open problems in the field of number theory are the twin primes conjecture and the Goldbach conjecture.
    — Quanta Magazine, 1 June 2020
  • And it is deeply connected to almost every other type of math, including the far older fields of number theory and geometry.
    — Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
  • As computers get faster and mathematicians explore the deeper realms of number theory, today’s codes will be broken.
    — Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2011
  • Wu said cybersecurity and cryptography can benefit from his work because much of it is based on prime numbers and number theory.
    — Erin B. Logan, Washington Post, 6 May 2018
  • Wiles managed to combine new research in very different branches of math in order to solve Fermat’s classic number theory question.
    — Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, 28 Jan. 2022
  • In fact, within modern number theory, p-adic L-functions are viewed as a natural companion to complex L-functions.
    — Quanta Magazine, 25 May 2021
  • Cryptography is the preservation of information via math and numbers, and an extension of number theory.
    — Popular Mechanics, 21 Feb. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'number theory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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