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constant
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
constant
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a constant battle
▪ As a student, life was a constant battle against debt.
a constant effort (=one that never stops)
▪ Walking was a constant effort.
a constant worry
▪ For shopkeepers here, break-ins are a constant worry.
a constant/inseparable companion (=someone you spend most or all of the time with)
▪ The two boys became constant companions.
a constant/permanent reminder (=that makes you think about something all the time)
▪ Peter's letters to me are a constant reminder of the happiness we shared.
a constant/permanent/perpetual state of sth
▪ They lived in a constant state of fear.
a constant/steady rate
▪ The process takes place at a constant rate.
a constant/steady speed
▪ The disc revolves at a constant speed.
a constant/steady/regular supply
▪ For dairy farming, a constant supply of lush grass is essential.
constant anxiety
▪ She lives a life of constant anxiety over money and job security.
constant chatter
▪ Jane’s constant chatter was annoying him.
constant danger (=continuing all the time)
▪ They are in constant danger of attack.
constant irritant
▪ Low-flying aircraft are a constant irritant in this area.
constant noise (=noise that does not stop)
▪ She was fed up with the constant noise of traffic.
constant repetition
▪ The job involved the constant repetition of the same movements.
constant supervision
▪ You need to be good at working alone without constant supervision.
constant
▪ The temperature of the room is kept constant.
constant/round-the-clock care (=all day and all night)
▪ He needs round-the-clock care.
frequent/constant/repeated references
▪ Medieval literature contains frequent references to insanity.
in a constant state of anarchy
▪ The classroom was in a constant state of anarchy.
steady/constant/endless etc stream
▪ A steady stream of visitors came to the house.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
▪ The number of female suicides remained almost constant during the same period.
▪ They must also be able to rally support and achieve results in the midst of almost constant organizational change.
▪ Our cruising grounds afford an almost constant sailing breeze and long hours of clear sunshine throughout the summer months.
▪ After that date it became a frequent and almost constant attribute of the genre in all countries.
▪ Poor, beautiful Johnny ... As the next day or two dragged by, fear became Cassie's almost constant companion.
▪ Jack demands almost constant attention, and, moreover, I need to build an outhouse.
▪ Far from being restful they are very demanding, needing almost constant attention.
▪ They were firing an almost constant barrage around the perimeter.
fairly
▪ Over the same period university expenditure, where more research is undertaken, was fairly constant at about £5,200 per student.
▪ Self-control and maturity are necessary for success as a pro athlete, because athletic ability is fairly constant at this level.
▪ Dempster represents the biter-bit brigade, being a fairly constant topic whenever journos gather together.
▪ Everyone was in a fairly constant state of edgy anticipation and nervousness throughout the tour.
▪ Without fairly constant monitoring it will be hard to tell.
▪ The overall success rate has remained fairly constant over the years at about one in five cases.
▪ The proportion not living with a partner as a part of a couple stayed fairly constant at about one in five.
relatively
▪ Access data is only useful when records remain relatively constant in their activity.
▪ The quantity of creatinine formed daily is a relatively constant amount since it is related to muscle mass.
▪ Given the sluggish progress of economic restructuring in the region the size of the hardware market is relatively constant.
▪ Power is a relatively constant factor in social relationships with policies as variables ... 4.
▪ The gas composition remains relatively constant up to 1-1.5% reflectance, and then increases as the gas becomes drier.
▪ Usually there will be some random variation of this sort superposed on a relatively constant overall pattern.
▪ Thereafter, however, the fibre scores remained relatively constant.
▪ Time-free environments One possibility is to perform experiments in the relatively constant conditions that exist near the poles.
■ NOUN
attention
▪ The booming Golden State, no longer moving to rural rhythms, needed constant attention from lawmakers armed with expertise.
▪ Crusting for chub is an art that requires concentration and constant attention to the performance.
▪ Present happenings require constant attention and reassessment.
▪ The maintenance of the dam requires the constant attention of the owners.
▪ Jack demands almost constant attention, and, moreover, I need to build an outhouse.
▪ Far from being restful they are very demanding, needing almost constant attention.
▪ For the next 92 days, the baby needed constant attention.
battle
▪ I reckoned they would be better off not being involved in our constant battles.
▪ Democrats viewed the trust as the only alternative to constant battles over money.
▪ Suddenly she was weary of the constant battle between them.
▪ Managers and clinicians had rather come to view each other as protagonists in the constant battle for resources.
▪ Hermaphrodites are in a state of constant battle against rebellious organelle genes trying to destroy their male parts.
▪ The entire house was infested with mice which meant that everybody was in constant battle against their droppings and their smell.
▪ It seemed to Putt that life was a constant battle against debt.
care
▪ Ron Deacon is adoptive father to five love bird chicks, who need constant care and attention.
▪ They are usually set up near their convents, for premature and sick children need constant care.
▪ The children are your constant care, and their education is something to you.
▪ But it needs constant care and attention, and spills show up on it very easily.
▪ They had been my constant care since Mr Parker had handed them to me.
change
▪ However, their history, from the first appointments in 1839, has been one of constant change and adaptation.
▪ They are places where the person goes to break the pattern of constant change.
▪ This is very important where there is a constant change of partners.
▪ Community development by definition is constant change.
▪ Desires a constant change of people, surroundings or things.
▪ Where there used to be stability, now there is constant change.
companion
▪ Lets hope Community Care will be a constant companion and source of support to Thompson in the future.
▪ I hardly ever see a fish so large anymore, which were my constant companions when I began diving.
▪ His responsibilities and favours escalated and he was soon her personal attendant and constant companion.
▪ Adolescent Egocentrism Egocentrism is a constant companion of cognitive development.
▪ Poor, beautiful Johnny ... As the next day or two dragged by, fear became Cassie's almost constant companion.
▪ They became constant companions and Corbett often found them playing cat's-cradle in some comer or window embrasure.
▪ A Lungfish is my constant companion in and out of the fishhouse Least favourite species and why?
▪ Mostly, she was off; travelling the world with Mr Gibbon, her constant companion for twenty-nine of those thirty years.
demand
▪ The one book in constant demand is his London.
▪ Such a transportation system will exert a constant demand for fuel both at the space station and on the lunar surface.
▪ Several times she felt almost caught up with the constant demands for her attention.
▪ Ervin is likewise considered a world-class horn player in constant demand.
▪ You will find your professional abilities to be in constant demand and you will be directly concerned with the provision of services.
▪ He's appeared at folk festivals all over the land and is in constant demand for club work.
▪ And whatever anyone else says, she made Jett edgy with her constant demands.
▪ Some horticultural staff write excellent articles in journals, and some are in constant demand for public lectures.
fear
▪ It is a constant fear and flight response.
▪ They have lived with constant fear.
▪ Some people live with the constant fear that their cancer will come back, even after they have finished their treatment.
▪ In 1996 Dave admitted he was suffering from Paradise Syndrome-a constant fear of being ill even when nothing is wrong.
▪ I also got married because of the constant fear of losing Marie, which really is no foundation for a good relationship.
▪ Moreover, millions of people live in constant fear of being attacked in the streets and in their homes!
▪ Plainly they went in constant fear of the Robemaker and the Dark Realm.
flow
▪ It needs a constant flow of information.
▪ Without this it would be difficult to maintain a constant flow of fuel to the engines.
▪ This will give a firm footing and will stand up to the constant flow of traffic.
▪ There is a constant flow of people leaving the land and going into service and hotel jobs, particularly in Funchal.
▪ One problem is the constant flow of visitors who arrive unannounced on my doorstep.
▪ Tiny shops line the bridge, attracting a constant flow of visitors.
pressure
▪ A safety thermostat controls the water temperature, so ensuring constant pressure to give a consistent jet of cleansing steam.
▪ She initially refused, but ultimately relented under the constant pressure.
▪ It was important to try to maintain a constant pressure in both the fuel and oxidizer tanks during the flight.
▪ Maintain a little bit of constant pressure by driving against the chimney wall so that you stay still in one place.
▪ The Survey was under constant pressure to cover as many square miles of ground as possible every year.
▪ A confined gas exerts a constant pressure on the wall of its container uniformly in all directions.
▪ In 1787 Charles showed that gas volume varies directly with temperature at constant pressure.
▪ Helium was used over the fuel to maintain a constant pressure in the tank both at launch and during flight.
price
▪ The use of constant prices enabled an appreciation of the physical inputs since changes in an amount signified a change in volume.
▪ The funds sell shares at a constant price of $ 1. 00 per share.
▪ At constant prices accounting for price movements, this represents a 7.6% increase, comparing favourably with last years increase of 1.6%.
▪ Since 1982-3 cash planning has replaced the previous system of constant prices.
rate
▪ The simplest models assume that earnings grow at a constant rate of g percent per year.
▪ Like all types of radioactive decay the process takes place at a constant rate, independent of all environmental conditions.
▪ If information arrived at a constant rate in calendar time, the approaches using calendar time and event time would be identical.
▪ In the whole, as the degree of discrimination increased it was found that reaction time increased at a fairly constant rate.
▪ If a constant rate of turn is now maintained, the sensation of turning lessens and may disappear altogether.
▪ The increase has not been at a constant rate.
▪ The finance cost should be allocated to accounting periods soas to achieve a constant rate on the amount outstanding.
▪ In contrast, a fixed rate mortgage has a constant rate of interest which is charged over a specified period.
reminder
▪ True, fruit is healthy, but it's also a constant reminder of food.
▪ The quadrant is a constant reminder of his limitations.
▪ The presence of a bodyguard was a constant reminder of the invisible veil which separated her from her family and friends.
▪ Their victims stand as a constant reminder, both of their crimes, and of the reality they have tried to overturn.
▪ The inescapable presence of doubt is a constant reminder of our responsibility to truth in a twilight world of truth and half-truth.
▪ They were a constant reminder that this was no ordinary crime; that 168 people died and some one should pay.
▪ As she commented angrily to friends later, she could not see why Charles needed these constant reminders of Camilla.
▪ There are constant reminders that we, too, are animal beings and part of nature, not mere observers.
repetition
▪ The constant repetition of an untruth did not make anyone believe, but it could batter the brain into unthinking apathy.
▪ But as experience is gained through constant repetition, each movement of the form begins to flow smoothly into the next.
▪ Karate has quite a high drop-out rate because of the hard work involved and the constant repetition of techniques.
source
▪ The squirrels too, who come to steal the birds' nuts are a constant source of entertainment.
▪ The number of students who had killed themselves and their instructors was a constant source of anxiety.
▪ Furthermore, the fact that the old person is alone, especially at night, is a constant source of anxiety.
▪ The nearby water spigot became a constant source of fascination.
▪ Sometimes a sympathetic friend can be a constant source of discouragement, all unknowingly.
▪ As you can imagine, this was a constant source of campus conflict at the time.
▪ This provides a constant source of attention and makes sure that the child realizes that the parent is fully participating.
▪ The advertising of the scheme and the consequent level of public awareness has been a constant source of concern.
speed
▪ Two-blade Hartzell propellers are fitted and these have the usual constant speed and feathering facilities.
▪ The Embraer 120 turboprop is equipped with twin propellers designed to spin at a constant speed.
▪ One aircraft was fitted with a R-1340 geared engine and a three-bladed constant speed propeller with spinner.
▪ It is really not too difficult to wave the reader at a reasonably constant speed while it is over the bar code.
state
▪ Others seem to hear your heartbeat and remain in a constant state of nervous tension.
▪ Or did the belief in their inevitable demise subject them to a constant state of tension and anxiety?
▪ It was in a constant state of reoccupation, favoured only by marginal or twilight enterprises indifferent to a fundamentally inhuman environment.
▪ Although frightening and painful, the actual violence is generally less terrifying than living in a constant state of uncertainty and threat.
▪ The Edgsons believe that all houses are in a constant state of change, as they reflect the lives of their occupants.
▪ Guided by the churning within the planet, the crust of the earth has been in a constant state of flux.
▪ Everyone was in a fairly constant state of edgy anticipation and nervousness throughout the tour.
▪ During our Mission District store days, we lived in a constant state of fear.
stream
▪ Her clinic at the John Radcliffe hospital has a constant stream of parents wanting help.
▪ A constant stream of spoken advice and directions that this child is less able to comprehend will thereby exaggerate her difficulty.
▪ From it, during her life-time, she ejects eggs in an almost constant stream.
▪ The constant stream of praise burbling in the background of the class swelled into shouts of rapture.
▪ I always wondered where her constant stream of men came from.
▪ A constant stream of strangers roamed the neighborhoods.
▪ Cook drove clumsily, keeping up a constant stream of chatter.
▪ Did he want to work with the same people over a period of time or have a constant stream of new ones?
struggle
▪ Organisational politics involve constant struggles for control, and choices of structure, technology and organisational goals are part of this process.
▪ It had been a constant struggle for fifteen years.
▪ We hate the constant struggle to keep order - but the alternative is worse.
▪ Our colors run together, and it is a constant struggle to keep a neat palette with each hue in its place.
▪ What is ultimately of most significance in Foucault's work is this recognition of the constant struggles within the definitions of sexuality.
▪ It was a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of thrift regulators in Washington.
▪ Its history has a message for evolution: that the existence of any creature is a constant struggle against relentless forces.
▪ As we have said, television news is in a constant struggle with time, and time is a fierce adversary.
supply
▪ Second, there must be a constant supply of water to the sward even during long spells of dry weather.
▪ To make this elitist system work, there had to be a constant supply of visible saints.
▪ He only gobs miniscule amounts at any time ... and has a constant supply waiting, poised on his tongue.
▪ Every major site needs a constant supply of this slurry of cement, stones, gravel, and water.
▪ But they need constant supplies of food and even temperatures.
▪ Fish have a constant supply of varied foodstuffs, and there is room to avoid aggression.
▪ Nevertheless I like to have a constant supply of fresh flowers in the house.
▪ Aerobic activity Aerobic activity is a form of training requiring a constant supply of oxygen to the muscles.
temperature
▪ They estimated that it would take them four months to build the cells, the measuring equipment and constant temperature baths.
▪ Thus the plants have a constant temperature in both leaves and roots.
▪ His law states that gas volume varies inversely with pressure at constant temperature.
▪ Below the frost line, the ground maintains a more constant temperature of about 55 degrees year-round.
▪ Under reasonably constant temperature conditions, the prototype unit provided a time period of 24 hours within two or three minutes.
▪ It emerges from the base of the massive Navajo Dam at constant temperatures and even flows.
▪ In practice the polymer solution is held at a constant temperature while precipitant is added to the stirred solution.
▪ If they want to heat the house to a constant temperature of3o0C, they can do so.
theme
▪ One constant theme often underlies a series of quarrels or rows on seemingly different issues.
▪ Usually one constant theme related to the shared preoccupation of the couple underlies the seemingly different causes of rows and arguments.
▪ A constant theme in research concerned with the hospital care of older people is the discharge from hospital back to the community.
▪ Yet marital relations were a constant theme of controversy, discussion, humour and, of course, song.
▪ The desire for peace was the increasingly dominant and constant theme of popular opinion.
▪ Landscape, of course, was a constant theme throughout John Marin's long working life.
▪ Keeping the focus on the foetus has been the constant theme of opposition to abortion.
▪ This is the river which flows as a constant theme through the novels of D. H. Lawrence.
threat
▪ The small village appears to be under constant threat of a landslide from the steep slopes immediately behind.
▪ They lived under constant threat of exposure and extermination at the hands of the Inquisition, which monitored Christians' piety.
▪ The immediate past and the constant threat was poverty.
▪ Individual feelings and complexities are repressed and there is a constant threat of mutiny among family members.
▪ He was impeccable in defence, and posed a constant threat to the Springboks' defensive wall.
▪ They governed during the Cold War, with the constant threat of nuclear war.
▪ Moscow did not falter under the onslaught and their counter-attacking potential was a constant threat.
▪ The strain of working long hours under the constant threat of robbery took its toll on the family.
use
▪ Our bicycles were in constant use.
▪ But it takes practice and constant use.
▪ The tenement was very old, the stairs concave from constant use.
▪ Called Tickford Bridge, it is said to be the oldest iron bridge in Britain still in constant use.
▪ If several tanks are in constant use, fitting them with power filters would prove very expensive indeed.
▪ It had been discovered that the airfield at Sidi Haneish, near Fuka, was in constant use and full of aircraft.
▪ They can operate at temperatures up to 1,000°C and very high pressures; and they may be in constant use for 10 years.
▪ The machine operates by a Start/Stop button, so constant use of a foot controller is not necessary.
vigilance
▪ There was time for domestic forces to shape a new nation without the same constant vigilance of the behaviour of neighbours.
▪ I had my routines: constant vigilance, my antidote to the sin of sleeping and the undomesticated world of dreams.
▪ And it would be impossible to provide constant vigilance at future exhibitions.
▪ Since Blue is only one man, he realizes that constant vigilance is not expected of him.
▪ They need constant attention, constant vigilance, like a nursery of children.
▪ The profession was extremely hard to break into and to maintain a very low weight required constant vigilance and self-discipline.
▪ What was required to hold him at bay was constant vigilance.
▪ But there is a need for constant vigilance to avoid abuse and for much greater resources to be channelled to hospitals.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A newborn baby needs constant care and attention.
▪ He suffered constant pain in the months before his death.
▪ It is important to store wine at a constant temperature.
▪ Lehman is in constant pain, and suffers from a severe form of arthritis.
▪ People under the regime lived in constant fear.
▪ She has learned to put up with the constant roar of trucks and cars whizzing by.
▪ The number of deaths from road accidents has remained constant over the last five years.
▪ The patient must be kept under constant supervision.
▪ The refugees lived in constant fear of being attacked.
▪ The winds are constant in winter.
▪ Unemployment is likely to remain more or less constant for the next two years.
▪ We live next door to a busy street and there is always a constant level of noise in the background.
▪ You save more gas if you drive at a constant speed.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ I reckoned they would be better off not being involved in our constant battles.
▪ It took away the normal drudgery of long flights with little radio contact and constant headings.
▪ It was important to try to maintain a constant pressure in both the fuel and oxidizer tanks during the flight.
▪ The movements may vary from hardly noticeable choreiform twitches or dystonic posturings to nearly constant restless activity of extremities and trunk.
▪ The whole process required constant skilled attention.
▪ There it restores constant returns to scale; it does not do so in our case.
▪ They were firing an almost constant barrage around the perimeter.
▪ We should expect to see networks wherever we see constant irregular change, and we do.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
elastic
▪ For an isotropic material G and K are the two independent elastic constants.
▪ As Born first showed there are precise relationships between the crystal elastic constants and the interatomic forces in a regular crystal lattice.
▪ Explicit formulae for the overall elastic constants have not been obtained, however, by the method.
▪ In isotropic materials only 2 elastic constants are required.
■ NOUN
time
▪ The time constant of this asymptotic rise is 0.8 day.
▪ The amplitudes and time constants of these components of the glitch are given in Table 1.
▪ Replay circuits in which two time constants are combined.
▪ In most stepping motor systems the winding time constant is much less than the period of rotor oscillations about each equilibrium position.
■ VERB
hold
▪ The answer is no, because some truth properties and truth relations hold regardless of reference, provided meaning is held constant.
▪ Supply tells us the quantities of a product which will be supplied at various prices, all other factors being held constant.
▪ Producers know that they can not hold prices constant while waiting for a quick recovery from cyclical downturns.
remain
▪ However, test scores for 14-year-olds have remained constant at 55 per cent.
▪ The styles change, from tribal rhythms and orchestral maneuvers to avant-garde rock fusion; but the impulse toward expression remains constant.
▪ Clearly food production and consumption have changed vastly since industrialization but the devaluation of women's contribution remains a constant.
▪ While the need for geriatric trained physicians is growing, the pool of doctors likely to enter the field has remained constant.
▪ However, Spiteri believes sales will remain constant until the 1998 Winter Olympics, after which he predicts another jump.
▪ In spite of this variation, daily hot-water demand will remain more or less constant.
▪ Remember to bring a jacket; the underground temperature remains a constant 47 degrees.
stay
▪ Make sure that the level of the arms stays constant and that you apply some extra resistance as you squeeze.
▪ Don't be disheartened if some weeks your weight stays constant.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Scientists were satisfied with this figure, and the constant was left undisturbed until 1975.
▪ The important aspect of sample heterogeneity and sampling error is adequately considered and homogeneity constants and nugget effects are discussed.
▪ The only constant linking it all is that it qualifies as, for lack of a better term, neat.
▪ This constant is important because it fixes the sizes, period and energy of an electron's orbit in an atom.
▪ Through it all, there was one constant.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Constant

Constant \Con"stant\ (k[o^]n"stant), a. [L. onstans, -antis, p. pr. of constare to stand firm, to be consistent; con- + stare to stand: cf. F. constant. See Stand and cf. Cost, v. t.]

  1. Firm; solid; fixed; immovable; -- opposed to fluid.

    If . . . you mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body.
    --Boyle.

  2. Not liable, or given, to change; permanent; regular; continuous; continually recurring; steadfast; faithful; not fickle. Opposite of changeable and variable.

    Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant friends.
    --Sir P. Sidney.

    I am constant to my purposes.
    --Shak.

    His gifts, his constant courtship, nothing gained.
    --Dryden.

    Onward the constant current sweeps.
    --Longfellow.

  3. (Math. & Physics) Remaining unchanged or invariable, as a quantity, force, law, etc.

  4. Consistent; logical. [Obs.]
    --Shak.

    Syn: Fixed; steadfast; unchanging; permanent; unalterable; immutable; invariable; perpetual; continual; resolute; firm; unshaken; determined.

    Usage: Constant, Continual, Perpetual. These words are sometimes used in an absolute and sometimes in a qualified sense. Constant denotes, in its absolute sense, unchangeably fixed; as, a constant mind or purpose. In its qualified sense, it marks something as a ``standing'' fact or occurence; as, liable to constant interruptions; constantly called for. Continual, in its absolute sense, coincides with continuous. See Continuous. In its qualified sense, it describes a thing as occuring in steady and rapid succession; as, a round of continual calls; continually changing. Perpetual denotes, in its absolute sense, what literally never ceases or comes to an end; as, perpetual motion. In its qualified sense, it is used hyperbolically, and denotes that which rarely ceases; as, perpetual disturbance; perpetual noise; perpetual intermeddling.

Constant

Constant \Con"stant\, n.

  1. That which is not subject to change; that which is invariable.

  2. (Math.) A quantity that does not change its value; -- used in countradistinction to variable.

  3. (Astron.) A number whose value, when ascertained (as by observation) and substituted in a general mathematical formula expressing an astronomical law, completely determines that law and enables predictions to be made of its effect in particular cases.

  4. (Physics) A number expressing some property or condition of a substance or of an instrument of precision; as, the dielectric constant of quartz; the collimation constant of a transit instrument.

  5. (Computers) a data structure that does not change during the course of execution of a program. It may be a number, a string, or a more complex data structure; -- contrasted with variable.

    Aberration constant, or Constant of aberration (Astron.), a number which by substitution in the general formula for aberration enables a prediction to be made of the effect of aberration on a star anywhere situated. Its value is 20[sec].47.

    Absolute constant (Math.), one whose value is absolutely the same under all circumstances, as the number 10, or any numeral.

    Arbitrary constant, an undetermined constant in a differential equation having the same value during all changes in the values of the variables.

    Gravitation constant (Physics), the acceleration per unit of time produced by the attraction of a unit of mass at unit distance. When this is known the acceleration produced at any distance can be calculated.

    Solar constant (Astron.), the quantity of heat received by the earth from the sun in a unit of time. It is, on the C. G. S. system, 0.0417 small calories per square centimeter per second.
    --Young. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

    Constant of integration (Math.), an undetermined constant added to every result of integration.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
constant

late 14c., "steadfast, resolute," from Old French constant (14c.) or directly from Latin constantem (nominative constans) "standing firm, stable, steadfast, faithful," present participle of constare, from com- "together" (see com-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Of actions and conditions from 1650s. Related: Constantly.

constant

1832 in mathematics and physics, from constant (adj.).

Wiktionary
constant

a. 1 unchanged through time or space; permanent. 2 consistently recurring over time; persistent. n. 1 That which is permanent or invariable. 2 (context algebra English) A quantity that remains at a fixed value throughout a given discussion. 3 (context science English) Any property of an experiment, determined numerically, that does not change under given circumstances. 4 (context computing English) An identifier that is bound to an invariant value; a fixed value given a name to aid in readability of source code.

Related phrases:
WordNet
constant

  1. n. a quantity that does not vary [syn: constant quantity]

  2. a number representing a quantity assumed to have a fixed value in a specified mathematical context; "the velocity of light is a constant"

constant

  1. adj. persistent in occurrence and unvarying in nature; "maintained a constant temperature"; "a constant beat"; "principles of unvarying validity"; "a steady breeze" [syn: changeless, invariant, steady, unvarying]

  2. continually recurring or continuing without interruption; "constant repetition of the exercise"; "constant chatter of monkeys"

  3. steadfast in purpose or devotion or affection; "a man constant in adherence to his ideals"; "a constant lover"; "constant as the northern star" [ant: inconstant]

  4. uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing; "the ceaseless thunder of surf"; "in constant pain"; "night and day we live with the incessant noise of the city"; "the never-ending search for happiness"; "the perpetual struggle to maintain standards in a democracy"; "man's unceasing warfare with drought and isolation"; "unremitting demands of hunger" [syn: ceaseless, incessant, never-ending, perpetual, unceasing, unremitting]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Constant

Constant or The Constant may refer to:

Constant (given name)

Constant is a given name, and may refer to:

  • André Henri Constant van Hasselt (1806-1874), Flemish poet
  • André Marie Constant Duméril (1774-1860), French zoologist
  • Constant Chevillon (1880-1944), Grand Master of the Freemasonry Rite of Memphis-Misraïm
  • Constant d'Aubigné (circa 1584-1647), French nobleman
  • Constant de Kerchove de Denterghem (1790-1865), Belgian liberal politician
  • Constant Feith (1884-1958), Dutch amateur football player
  • Constant Fornerod (1819-1899), Swiss politician
  • Constant Fouard (1837-1903), French ecclesiastical writer
  • Constant Huret (1870-1951), long distance track racing cyclist
  • Constant Janssen (1895-1970), Belgian physician and businessman
  • Constant Lambert (1905-1951), British composer and conductor
  • Constant Le Marchand de Lignery (1662-1732), French military officer
  • Constant Martin, inventor of the Clavioline
  • Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920-2005), Dutch painter, generally known simply as Constant
  • Constant Permeke (1886-1952), Belgian painter
  • Constant Prévost (1787-1856), French geologist
  • Constant Tonegaru (1919-1952), Romanian poet
  • Constant Troyon (1810-1865), French painter
  • Constant Vanden Stock (born 1914), honorary president and former president and player of Belgian football club R.S.C. Anderlecht
  • Jean Michel Constant Leber (1780-1859), French historian and bibliophile
  • Jean René Constant Quoy (1790-1869), French zoologist
  • Marie Philibert Constant Sappey (1810-1896), French anatomist
Constant (surname)

Constant is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

  • Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), Swiss-born thinker, writer and French politician
  • Benjamin Constant (Brazil) (1836–1891), Brazilian military man and political thinker
  • David Constant (born 1941), international cricket umpire
  • Edward Constant II (born c. 1942), American historian
  • Emmanuel Constant (bishop) (1928–2009), Roman Catholic Haitian bishop
  • Emmanuel Constant (born 1956), founder of FRAPH
  • Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, (1845 – 1902), French painter
  • Marius Constant (1925–2004), Romanian-born French composer
  • Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant (1852–1924), French diplomat and politician
  • Pete Constant (born 1963), American politician
  • Kevin Constant (born 1987), Guinean footballer
Constant (computer programming)

In computer programming, a constant is an identifier with an associated value which cannot be altered by the program during normal execution – the value is constant. This is contrasted with a variable, which is an identifier with a value that can be changed during normal execution – the value is variable. Constants are useful for both programmers and compilers: for programmers they are a form of self-documenting code and allow reasoning about correctness; while for compilers they allow compile-time and run-time checks that constancy assumptions are not violated, and allow or simplify some compiler optimizations.

There are various specific realizations of the general notion of a constant, with subtle distinctions that are often overlooked. The most significant are: compile-time (statically-valued) constants, run-time (dynamically-valued) constants, immutable objects, and constant types ( const).

Typical examples of compile-time constants include mathematical constants, values from standards (here maximum transmission unit), or internal configuration values (here characters per line), such as these C examples:

const float PI = 3.1415927; // maximal single float precision const unsigned int MTU = 1500; // Ethernet v2, RFC 894 const unsigned int COLUMNS = 80;

Typical examples of run-time constants are values calculated based on inputs to a function, such as this C++ example:

void f(std::string s) { const size_t l = s.length; // ... }
Constant (mathematics)

In mathematics, the adjective constant means non-varying. The noun constant may have two different meanings. It may refer to a fixed and well defined number or other mathematical object. The term mathematical constant (and also physical constant) is sometimes used to distinguish this meaning from the other one. A constant may also refer to a constant function or its value (it is a common usage to identify them). Such a constant is commonly represented by a variable which does not depend on the main variable(s) of the studied problem. This is the case, for example, for a constant of integration which is an arbitrary constant function (not depending on the variable of integration) added to a particular antiderivative to get all the antiderivatives of the given function.

For example, a general quadratic function is commonly written as:


ax + bx + c , 

where a, b and c are constants (or parameters), while x is the variable, a placeholder for the argument of the function being studied. A more explicit way to denote this function is


x ↦ ax + bx + c , 

which makes the function-argument status of x clear, and thereby implicitly the constant status of a, b and c. In this example a, b and c are coefficients of the polynomial. Since c occurs in a term that does not involve x, it is called the constant term of the polynomial and can be thought of as the coefficient of x; any polynomial term or expression of degree zero is a constant.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "constant".

Then, retaining only fifty men as a guard to the battery, the midshipmen ordered the rest of the defenders of the abattis to move forward among the trees on the flanks of the Russians, keeping up a constant fire, until they joined the main body in their attack on the Russian rear.

For each cortical map, the number of ways the cortical map can be activated over a period of time is very large compared to the number of ways it can be activated that produce a constant activity pattern.

Only once before their marriage, when the diary was still active, did Adams dare mention her in its pages, and then almost in code: Di was a constant feast.

One thing, however, remains constant: these card creatures are just as ornery, just as irrational and chaotic as the other Wonderland inhabitants Alice has already encountered.

It would be a small loss to the Empire, an ineffectual blow, but Alima represented a constant, undeniable threat to the Rebel Alliance.

The clothes were better, the food more exotic, the people more serious and aware of their own importance, but all in all the same dynamics applied: polite chitchat, polite laughter, the constant mingling.

The clothes were better, the food more exotic, the people more serious and aware of their own importance, but all in all the same dynamics applied, polite chitchat, polite laughter, the constant mingling.

By the time Amani had carried her to the clinic the next day, a serious infection had set in, requiring massive doses of IV antibiotics and constant care.

The overwhelming impression given by the newest changes, between the fresh green glow of her eyes and the amoebic tattoos in constant motion beneath the exposed skin of her arms and legs, was shallow exoticism for its own sake.

She lay, amoeboid, sprawled on an ancient couch from which she obviously could not rise unaided, and except for the small, hidden motion of her jaw when she spoke and the constant darting of her eyes back and forth, back and forth, she was utterly motionless.

Losses would be made up as needed by the mechanisms of the Gates and Anchors, but once the temperatures stabilized in the life zone and the shield was in place, this was a matter of minor fine tuning, not a constant battle.

The Chams of Annam and Cambodia say that the goddess of good luck used to resuscitate people as fast as they died, till the sky-god, tired of her constant interference with the laws of nature, transferred her to the moon, where it is no longer in her power to bring the dead to life again.

Nevertheless, the constant feasting and orgies of the rude Gallic troops at the sacrificial banquets were an ongoing scandal to the refined and delicate Antiochians, who night after night suffered drunken, carousing foreign soldiers rampaging through their streets, and were unable to hide their resentment.

Sterling and I had looked down on a constant scurry of activity beneath us the whole time, and had been promptly greeted by Arkansawyers of one kind or another each time we landed for a brief rest stop.

Gould a constant stream of updates as she called friends and family and told them in detail that Rapp was going in for arthroscopic knee surgery in the morning.