cartesian product

noun

The set of all possible ordered pairs of elements, the being first from X, the second from Y, written X×Y. Formally, the set (x,y);|;x∈X;and;y∈Y.

Meanings

cartesian product1

nouncartesian product (plural cartesian products)

plural cartesian products

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Cartesian product.

Cartesian product2

nounCartesian product (plural Cartesian products)

plural Cartesian products · alternative cartesian product

  1. mathematicsThe set of all possible ordered pairs of elements, the being first from X, the second from Y, written X×Y. Formally, the set (x,y);|;x∈X;and;y∈Y.

    Synonyms: direct product

  2. computingAll possible combinations of rows between all of the tables listed.
  3. geometryAn (m+n)-dimensional space, formally composed of all possible ordered pairs of points from X and Y, but thought of as an independent (m+n)-dimensional space (in the sense that if, e.g. X and Y are vector spaces, the elements of X×Y are thought of as (m+n)-tuples instead of ordered pairs) and written X×Y.

    On the Cartesian product of two manifolds a differentiable structure can be constructed in the following way.

    1987, M. Göckeler, T. Schücker, Differential Geometry, Gauge Theories, and Gravity, published 1989, page 98
  4. mathematicsAny of several generalizations of the set-theoretic sense, especially one which shares the geometrical intuition outlined above, i.e. one such that the product can be thought of as an object in its own right and not just as a set of pairs.

    The hypercube is the simplest example of a Cartesian product of graphs; indeed, the m-hypercube is nothing but (K₂)ᵐ.

    1997, Michel Marie Deza, Monique Laurent, Geometry of Cuts and Metrics, published 2009, page 297
    1 more example

    A moment's thought convinces us of the following: The Cartesian product of two Riemannian Einstein metrics with the same constant Ricci scalar ρ is again Ricci-constant, and has Ric

    2004, David Bao, Colleen Robles, “Ricci and Flag Curvatures in Finsler Geometry”, in David Dai-Wai Bao, Robert L. Bryant, Shiing-Shen Chern, Zhomgmin Shen, editors, A Sampler of Riemann-Finsler Geometry, page 246

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe set of all possible ordered pairs of elements, the being first from X, the second from Y, written X×Y. Formally, the set (x,y);|;x∈X;and;y∈Y.

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe set of ordered pairs of two given sets

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From Cartesian + product, after French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist René Descartes (1596–1650), whose formulation of analytic geometry gave rise to the concept.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 笛卡兒積 /笛卡儿积, 笛卡爾乘積 /笛卡尔乘积
  • 笛卡兒積 /笛卡儿积 (Díkǎ'ér jī)set of possible pairs
  • 笛卡爾乘積 /笛卡尔乘积 (Díkǎ'ěr chéngjī)set of possible pairs
Czech kartézský součin
  • kartézský součinset of possible pairs
Dutch cartesisch product, kruisproduct
  • cartesisch productset of possible pairs
  • kruisproductset of possible pairs
Estonian Cartesiuse korrutis, otsekorrutis
  • Cartesiuse korrutisset of possible pairs
  • otsekorrutisset of possible pairs
  • ristikorrutisset of possible pairs
Finnish karteesinen tulo, tulojoukko
  • karteesinen tuloset of possible pairs
  • tulojoukkoset of possible pairs
French produit cartésien
  • produit cartésienset of possible pairs
German kartesisches Produkt, Kreuzprodukt
  • kartesisches Produktset of possible pairs
  • Kreuzproduktset of possible pairs
Greek καρτεσιανό γινόμενο
  • καρτεσιανό γινόμενο (kartesianó ginómeno)set of possible pairs
Italian prodotto cartesiano
  • prodotto cartesianoset of possible pairs
Japanese デカルト積, 直積集合
  • デカルト積 (Dekaruto seki)set of possible pairs
  • 直積集合 (chokuseki shūgō)set of possible pairs
Māori whātuinga takirua
  • whātuinga takiruaset of possible pairs
Polish iloczyn kartezjański, produkt kartezjański
  • iloczyn kartezjańskiset of possible pairs
  • produkt kartezjańskiset of possible pairs
Portuguese produto cartesiano
  • produto cartesianoset of possible pairs
Romanian produs cartezian
  • produs cartezianset of possible pairs
Russian дека́ртово произведе́ние, прямо́е произведе́ние
  • дека́ртово произведе́ние (dɛkártovo proizvedénije)set of possible pairs
  • прямо́е произведе́ние (prjamóje proizvedénije)set of possible pairs
Spanish producto cartesiano
  • producto cartesianoset of possible pairs
Cite this entry
APA

cartesian product. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartesian%20product

MLA

“cartesian product.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartesian%20product. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cartesian product,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartesian%20product.

Source: cartesian product on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.