Glossary

Clear, concise definitions of 100+ financial, health, math, and engineering terms — each linked to related free calculators.

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

Finance25 terms

Amortization

The process of spreading loan payments over time so each payment covers both principal and interest.

Annuity

A financial product that pays out a fixed stream of income, typically used for retirement planning.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

The yearly cost of borrowing money expressed as a percentage, including fees and interest.

Capital Gains

The profit earned when an investment or asset is sold for more than its purchase price.

Compound Interest

Interest calculated on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods.

Credit Score

A three-digit number (300–850) that represents your creditworthiness based on your credit history.

Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI)

The percentage of gross monthly income that goes toward paying debts, used by lenders to assess borrowing capacity.

Depreciation

The gradual decrease in the value of an asset over time due to wear, age, or obsolescence.

Diversification

An investment strategy that spreads money across different assets to reduce overall risk.

Down Payment

An upfront cash payment made when purchasing a large asset, representing a percentage of the total price.

EMI (Equated Monthly Installment)

A fixed monthly payment made by a borrower to a lender on a specified date, covering both principal and interest.

Equity

The ownership value in an asset after subtracting any debts owed against it.

Escrow

A financial arrangement where a third party holds funds until contractual conditions are met.

Fixed Deposit (FD)

A savings product offered by banks where money is deposited for a fixed tenure at a guaranteed interest rate.

GST (Goods and Services Tax)

A value-added consumption tax levied on most goods and services sold in India, replacing multiple indirect taxes.

Inflation

The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, decreasing purchasing power.

Interest Rate

The percentage charged by a lender for the use of borrowed money, or the percentage earned on deposited funds.

Liquidity

How quickly and easily an asset can be converted into cash without significantly affecting its market price.

Mortgage

A loan secured by real property that the borrower repays with interest over a set term, typically 15 or 30 years.

Net Worth

The total value of all assets minus all liabilities, representing overall financial health.

PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance)

Insurance required when a borrower puts down less than 20% on a conventional home loan, protecting the lender against default.

Principal

The original amount of money borrowed or invested, excluding interest or earnings.

ROI (Return on Investment)

A ratio measuring the gain or loss from an investment relative to its cost, expressed as a percentage.

SIP (Systematic Investment Plan)

An investment strategy where a fixed amount is regularly invested in a mutual fund at set intervals.

Tax Bracket

A range of income that is taxed at a specific rate in a progressive tax system.

Health & Fitness20 terms

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

The percentage of alcohol in a person's bloodstream, used to measure intoxication level.

Blood Pressure

The force of blood pushing against artery walls, measured as systolic over diastolic pressure.

BMI (Body Mass Index)

A numerical value calculated from height and weight, used as a screening tool for body fat categories.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

The number of calories your body burns at complete rest to maintain basic life functions.

Body Fat Percentage

The proportion of total body weight that is composed of fat tissue.

Body Surface Area (BSA)

The measured or calculated surface area of the human body in square meters, used in medicine for drug dosing and burn assessment.

Caloric Deficit

Consuming fewer calories than your body burns, which is required for weight loss.

Due Date (Estimated Date of Delivery)

The projected date a pregnant person is expected to give birth, calculated as 280 days (40 weeks) from the first day of the last menstrual period.

Glycemic Index (GI)

A ranking system (0–100) that measures how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose levels.

Heart Rate Zones

Ranges of heart rate intensity used to target specific fitness goals during exercise.

Lean Body Mass (LBM)

Total body weight minus all body fat — includes muscle, bone, organs, water, and other non-fat tissue.

Macronutrients

The three main nutrients the body needs in large amounts: protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

One-Rep Max (1RM)

The maximum weight an individual can lift for a single repetition of a given exercise with proper form.

Ovulation

The release of a mature egg from the ovary, typically occurring mid-cycle (around day 14 of a 28-day menstrual cycle).

Protein Intake

The amount of dietary protein consumed daily, essential for muscle repair, immune function, and cell growth.

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

The number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain basic life functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production.

Sleep Cycle

A recurring pattern of sleep stages (light, deep, REM) that repeats approximately every 90 minutes throughout the night.

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

The total number of calories burned per day, including exercise and daily activities on top of BMR.

VO₂ Max

The maximum rate of oxygen consumption during exercise, measured in mL/kg/min, indicating cardiovascular fitness.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR)

The ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference, used as an indicator of health risk related to body fat distribution.

Math & Statistics18 terms

Area and Perimeter

Area measures the surface inside a shape (in square units); perimeter measures the distance around it.

Binary Number

A number expressed in base-2 using only the digits 0 and 1, fundamental to computer science and digital electronics.

Circumference

The distance around the outside of a circle, calculated as C = 2πr or C = πd.

Exponent

A number that indicates how many times a base number is multiplied by itself (e.g., 2³ = 2×2×2 = 8).

Factorial

The product of all positive integers up to n, written as n! (e.g., 5! = 5×4×3×2×1 = 120).

Fractions

A number representing a part of a whole, written as a numerator over a denominator.

Logarithm

The inverse of exponentiation — the logarithm of a number tells you the exponent needed to produce that number from a given base.

Matrix

A rectangular array of numbers arranged in rows and columns, used in linear algebra, computer graphics, and data science.

Mean, Median, and Mode

Three measures of central tendency used to describe the center of a data set.

Percentage

A number expressed as a fraction of 100, used to describe proportions and rates of change.

Permutation & Combination

Methods of counting arrangements: permutations count ordered arrangements, combinations count unordered selections.

Pi (π)

The mathematical constant representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.14159.

Prime Number

A natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself.

Probability

A measure of how likely an event is to occur, expressed as a number between 0 (impossible) and 1 (certain).

Pythagorean Theorem

A fundamental relation in geometry: the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of squares of the other two sides.

Quadratic Equation

A second-degree polynomial equation of the form ax² + bx + c = 0, where a ≠ 0.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the spread or dispersion of a data set from its mean (average).

Volume

The amount of three-dimensional space enclosed by a surface, measured in cubic units.

Engineering14 terms

BTU (British Thermal Unit)

A unit of heat energy equal to the amount needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Half-Life

The time required for half of a radioactive substance to decay, or more generally, for a quantity to reduce to half its initial value.

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)

A unit of energy equal to using 1,000 watts of power for one hour.

Kinetic Energy

The energy an object possesses due to its motion, calculated as KE = ½mv².

Molar Mass

The mass of one mole (6.022×10²³ particles) of a substance, expressed in grams per mole (g/mol).

Ohm's Law

The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance in an electrical circuit: V = I × R.

Potential Energy

The stored energy an object has due to its position or state, such as gravitational potential energy (PE = mgh).

Pressure

Force applied per unit area, measured in pascals (Pa), psi, atm, or bar.

Reynolds Number

A dimensionless quantity that predicts whether fluid flow will be laminar (smooth) or turbulent.

Specific Heat Capacity

The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one unit mass of a substance by one degree.

Stress and Strain

Stress is the internal force per unit area in a material; strain is the resulting deformation (change in shape or size).

Thermal Conductivity

A material property that measures how well it conducts heat, expressed in watts per meter-kelvin (W/m·K).

Torque

A rotational force that causes an object to rotate around an axis, measured in newton-meters or foot-pounds.

Wavelength & Frequency

Wavelength is the distance between successive wave peaks; frequency is the number of complete wave cycles per second.

Construction13 terms

Board Foot

A unit of lumber volume equal to a piece 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, and 1 inch thick (144 cubic inches).

Concrete Volume

The amount of concrete needed for a project, typically measured in cubic yards or cubic meters.

Drywall

A construction panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two sheets of paper, used for interior walls and ceilings.

Excavation Volume

The total volume of earth to be removed from a site, calculated from dimensions and depth of the dig.

Formwork

Temporary molds or frames used to hold wet concrete in shape until it hardens to the desired form.

Foundation

The lowest structural element of a building that transfers loads from the structure to the ground.

Mortar

A paste of cement, sand, and water used to bind bricks, blocks, or stones in masonry construction.

Rebar (Reinforcing Bar)

Steel bars embedded in concrete to increase tensile strength, since concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension.

Retaining Wall

A structure designed to hold back soil at different elevations, preventing erosion and landslides.

Roofing Square

A unit of measurement equal to 100 square feet, used in the roofing industry to estimate materials.

Soil Compaction

The process of mechanically densifying soil to increase its strength and reduce future settling.

Square Footage

A measurement of area in square feet, commonly used for rooms, homes, and land in the United States.

Staircase Rise and Run

Rise is the vertical height of each stair step; run is the horizontal depth. Together they determine stair comfort and safety.