x

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɛks/ UK /ɛks/ See IPA manual

Homophones

ex /ɛks/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like ax /ɛ/ vs /æ/ Sounds like axe /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Meanings

1

noun
the twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, often denoting an unknown quantity

Solve for x in the equation before moving to the next problem.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the twenty-fourth letter of... ex

Etymology

The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, from Latin X, which adopted it from the Greek letter chi (Χ); in algebra it conventionally denotes an unknown quantity, a usage popularized by Descartes.

X Latin Χ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

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General Vocabulary

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# x

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɛks/
**IPA (UK):** /ɛks/

## Meanings
1. the twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, often denoting an unknown quantity

## Examples
- Solve for x in the equation before moving to the next problem.

## Synonyms
- ex

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: X
- Root: Χ

## Etymology
The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, from Latin X, which adopted it from the Greek letter chi (Χ); in algebra it conventionally denotes an unknown quantity, a usage popularized by Descartes.

## AI Etymology
x has the etymological history: The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, from Latin X, which adopted it from the Greek letter chi (Χ); in algebra it conventionally denotes an unknown quantity, a usage popularized by Descartes. The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "the twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, often denoting an unknown quantity", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. Its nearest semantic neighbors include ex, but the etymology gives the word its own historical profile within that field. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin X, Ancient Greek Χ, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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