Meanings
- uncountablecomputerAn optimization method by which a problem having optimal substructure is recursively broken into simpler subproblems which are solved to produce the globally optimal solution.
The advantage of dynamic programming as a procedure for solving optimization problems is the simplification obtained by decomposition.
1975, Sven Danø, Nonlinear and Dynamic Programming: An Introduction, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 731 more example
Dynamic programming, developed by Richard Bellmann, is a powerful method for solving optimization problems. It has the attractive feature of breaking up a complex optimization problem into a number of simpler problems.
2000, Rein Luus, “Preface”, in Iterative Dynamic Programming, CRC Press, →ISBN
Origin
Coined by American mathematician Richard E. Bellman in the 1940s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 動態規劃 /动态规划
- 動態規劃 /动态规划 (dòngtàiguīhuà)dynamic programming
Finnish dynaaminen ohjelmointi
- dynaaminen ohjelmointidynamic programming
Russian динами́ческое программи́рование
- динами́ческое программи́рование (dinamíčeskoje programmírovanije)dynamic programming
Cite this entry
dynamic programming. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dynamic%20programming
“dynamic programming.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dynamic%20programming. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dynamic programming,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dynamic%20programming.
Source: dynamic programming on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.