Kleene closure

noun

The set of all strings of finite length made up of elements of a given set. (Then the Kleene closure is said to be of that given set. For a given set S, its Kleene closure may be denoted as S^*. The Kleene closure includes a string of zero length. Strings are equivalent to ordered tuples but written without the parentheses and commas.)

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Meanings

nounKleene closure (plural Kleene closures)

plural Kleene closures

  1. computerThe set of all strings of finite length made up of elements of a given set. (Then the Kleene closure is said to be of that given set. For a given set S, its Kleene closure may be denoted as S^*. The Kleene closure includes a string of zero length. Strings are equivalent to ordered tuples but written without the parentheses and commas.)

Origin

Named in honor of Stephen Cole Kleene (1909–1994), an American mathematician. The “closure” part comes from the fact that a Kleene closure is closed with respect to concatenation; cf. free monoid.

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Translations

Bulgarian звезда на Клини
  • звезда на Клини (zvezda na Klini)all strings of finite length made up of elements of a given set
Cite this entry
APA

Kleene closure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20closure

MLA

“Kleene closure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20closure. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kleene closure,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20closure.

Source: Kleene closure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.