phantom type

noun

A parameterized type that does not depend on all of its type parameters.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounphantom type (plural phantom types)

plural phantom types

  1. computingA parameterized type that does not depend on all of its type parameters.
    1 more example

    2004 July 31, Markus Mottl, "Phantom types" on caml-listhttps://web.archive.org/web/20200622172054/https://caml.inria.fr/pub/ml-archives/caml-list/2004/07/3a19a05047ea9332426bba1d8bc403ce.en.html Phantom types not only allow you to capture constraints, which are proved by the compiler, they are also perfectly cheap computationally, because you don't have to check things at runtime all the time.

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: phantom type on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.