What is "square matrix"

n. (context mathematics English) A matrix having the same number of rows as columns.

n. a matrix with the same number of rows and columns

In mathematics, a square matrix is a matrix with the same number of rows and columns. An n-by-n matrix is known as a square matrix of order n. Any two square matrices of the same order can be added and multiplied.

Square matrices are often used to represent simple linear transformations, such as shearing or rotation. For example, if R is a square matrix representing a rotation ( rotation matrix) and v is a column vector describing the position of a point in space, the product Rv yields another column vector describing the position of that point after that rotation. If v is a row vector, the same transformation can be obtained using vR, where R is the transpose of R.