Definition

In mathematics, a derivative that focuses on one variable at a time while treating all the others like they're frozen in carbonite—perfect for analyzing complex multivariable functions. It's the calculus equivalent of saying "let's just deal with one problem at a time." Also refers to dentures that only replace some teeth, though that usage appears in significantly fewer equations.

Example Usage

To optimize the profit function, we calculated the partial derivatives with respect to both price and quantity, holding everything else constant.

Source: Mathematical and academic terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

iron prof

A professor notorious for their exceptionally difficult courses and low grade distributions, typically wielding failure rates like a badge of honor. These academic gatekeepers often pride themselves on maintaining 'standards' while students strategically avoid their sections.

🎓 Education / Academia
Intermediate

course overload

Taking more credit hours than the standard full-time load, usually requiring special permission and a concerning lack of self-preservation instinct. The academic equivalent of saying 'hold my beer' while juggling chainsaws.

🎓 Education / Academia
Intermediate

genera

The taxonomic rank that sits awkwardly between family and species, making biologists feel fancy when they pluralize 'genus' correctly. Think of it as nature's filing system where all the cousins hang out together before getting sorted into their individual species cubicles. Also occasionally used by mathematicians to describe graph complexity, because apparently one scientific usage wasn't enough.

🎓 Education / Academia
Intermediate

Formative Assessment

An evaluation given during the learning process to check understanding and guide instruction, as opposed to waiting until the final exam to discover everyone is lost. It's like a GPS that tells you you're going the wrong way before you drive off a cliff.

🎓 Education / Academia
Intermediate

po mo

Abbreviated slang for 'postmodern,' typically used when you can't be bothered to say all four syllables or want to sound effortlessly academic. Perfect for art school critiques and pretentious coffee shop conversations about the meaninglessness of meaning.

🎓 Education / Academia
Beginner

study abroad

A program where students take classes in another country, theoretically for cross-cultural learning but often functioning as an expensive semester-long vacation with occasional lectures. Parents fund it; Instagram documents it; transcripts barely reflect it.

🎓 Education / Academia

Translate This Term

See “partial” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

Tolisi

She’s the girl everyone looks up to but the girl no one can have, Tolisi is that one friend you can always trust and r...