unknown quantity
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unknown quantity
noun unknown quantities
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A person or thing whose nature or value is a mystery.
Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity.
Opposite: known quantity, household name
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Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see unknown, quantity.
Many of the applications of mathematics require that you identify an unknown quantity, assign a variable to that quantity, and then attempt to express another unknown quantity in terms of that variable.
Similar: blank canvas, enigma
Talk about this word "unknown quantity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/unknown%20quantity. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. unknown quantity. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/unknown%20quantity "unknown quantity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/unknown%20quantity.Cite this
@misc{unknown_quantity_2026,
title = {unknown quantity},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/unknown%20quantity},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
