The Meaning of Iteration: What It Is and How To Use It

What is an iteration? This article will define the meaning of iteration in different contexts and fields so that you can learn to use it properly.

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

If you want to learn new words, we’ve got you covered! This article contains examples of iteration, the definition of the word iteration, synonyms, antonyms, translations, and more! Soon, you will be an expert on the word iteration. 

What Does Iteration Mean?

According to Dictionary, the word iteration is a noun that means a repetition or the act of repeating something. It can also refer to an updated, changed, or different version or form of something. The word iteration is pronounced ˌɪt əˈreɪ ʃən.

In mathematics and digital technology, an iteration is a repetition of something in a computer program or a series of approximations used to find an answer. If you are taking a algorithms or computer science class, you will likely hear the term iteration.

How Can We Use Iteration in a Sentence?

One of the best ways to learn how to use a new word is to read it in an example sentence. You will find several examples below for the word of the day in a relation. 

As you read these sentences, see if you can determine how the word iteration is used. After that, try coming up with your own example sentences for the word iteration to confirm that you understand the definition of this new word. 

Example #1: A Book’s Many Changes

In the latest iteration of her book, she completely changed the structure and even switched the antagonist to be a different character. Her agent was shocked to receive such a different manuscript from the first draft.

Example #2: Different Expectations

While the employee followed his boss’ set of instructions in the new iteration of the program, the boss was still not happy and said that this performance level was unacceptable. The man remained very confused since he completed the task with the changes. 

Example #3: Changing the Rules

The rules of the game that the child made up were in a constant iteration cycle so that he would win every time. He frequently changed the rules so that he would come out on top, to his peers’ frustration.

Example #4: Revising an Essay

Our second iteration of the essay was much better, and our teacher said that it showed significant problem-solving skills.

What Is the Etymology of Iteration?

The word iteration entered the English language in the mid-1400s. This word comes from the Late Middle English, from the Latin iterātiōn and iterātiō. 

What Are Translations of Iteration?

Many other languages have their own words for the word iteration. You may be wondering why it would be useful to know the translation of such a specific word. 

Suppose you are a mathematics or computer science student, and you will be studying abroad. In that case, knowing how to say the word iteration in languages other than American English can be very useful. 

Notice how many of these translations of iteration from Nice Translator look similar to the word iteration itself. This usually happens when two words in different languages have the same root or language of origin. In the case of the word iteration, the root language is Latin. When translations look similar and share a meaning, this is called a cognate. 

  • Bengali: পুনরাবৃত্তি
  • Urdu: تکرار
  • Slovenian: iteracija
  • French: itération
  • Welsh: iteriad
  • Bulgarian: повторение
  • Basque: iterazio
  • Danish: iteration
  • Finnish: iteraatio
  • Russian: итерация
  • Marathi: पुनरावृत्ती
  • Gujarati: પુનરાગમન
  • Chinese (PRC): 迭代
  • Hebrew: איטרציה
  • Lithuanian: iteracija
  • Ukrainian: ітерація
  • Norwegian: iterasjon
  • Italian: iterazione
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 迭代
  • Czech: opakování
  • Romanian: repetare
  • Swedish: iteration
  • Tamil: மறு செய்கை
  • Indonesian: pengulangan
  • Arabic: تكرار
  • Hindi: यात्रा
  • Swahili: iteration
  • Filipino: pag -ulit
  • Catalan: iteració
  • Vietnamese: Lặp đi lặp lại
  • Japanese: 反復
  • Malayalam: ആവർത്തനം
  • Greek: επανάληψη
  • Latvian: iterācija
  • Hungarian: ismétlés
  • Spanish: iteración
  • Turkish: yineleme
  • German: Wiederholung
  • Icelandic: endurtekning
  • Portuguese (Brazil): iteração
  • Dutch: herhaling
  • Amharic: ማቃለያ
  • Polish: iteracja
  • Portuguese (Portugal): iteração
  • Estonian: iteratsioon
  • Kannada: ಪುನರಾವರ್ತನೆ
  • Malay: lelaran
  • Slovak: iterácia
  • Thai: การทำซ้ำ
  • Korean: 반복
  • Croatian: iteracija
  • Telugu: మరల
  • Serbian: итерација

What Are Synonyms of Iteration?

Iteration, while not a formal term necessarily, is quite an advanced word. However, people might not always know what you are talking about when you use the word iteration. Therefore, it can be useful to know synonyms for the word iteration in case you need to explain this word to another person. 

For all of the synonyms of iteration you could ever need, turn to this list from Power Thesaurus

  • battology
  • conduplication
  • copy
  • doubling
  • duplicate
  • duplication
  • echo
  • frequency
  • frequentness
  • gemination
  • harping
  • imitation
  • ingemination
  • iterance
  • iterate
  • iterating
  • iterative
  • iterative method
  • iterative process
  • iteratively
  • itineration
  • loop
  • looping
  • loops
  • monotony
  • periodicity
  • practice
  • prepping
  • reaffirmation
  • reappearance
  • recapitulation
  • recitation
  • recounting
  • recurrence
  • redundancy
  • reduplication
  • regularity
  • rehearsal
  • reiteration
  • renewal
  • reoccurrence
  • repeat
  • repeating
  • repetition
  • repetitiousness
  • repetitiveness
  • replay
  • replication
  • reproduction
  • rerun
  • restatement
  • rhythm
  • run
  • tautology

What Are Antonyms of Iteration?

Power Thesaurus provides several terms that mean the opposite of the word iteration. If you are trying to refer to some things original, and not a replication or duplication, you can utilize this fantastic list. 

  • archetype
  • back
  • background
  • beginning
  • card
  • case
  • character
  • copy
  • creation
  • descent
  • design
  • eccentric
  • exemplar
  • first
  • forerunner
  • form
  • former
  • ideal
  • illustration
  • individualist
  • initial
  • invention
  • master
  • model
  • mold
  • nonconformist
  • novel
  • novelty
  • oddball
  • oddity
  • origin
  • original
  • paradigm
  • paragon
  • pattern
  • precedent
  • precursor
  • prototype
  • source
  • standard
  • start
  • starting
  • text
  • type
  • weirdo

Conclusion

Word iteration is a noun that refers to some repetition or duplication of something. Often, this term is used in fields of mathematics and computer science to refer to a specific type of replication and duplication. 

Try using this new word of the day in a sentence today to test your knowledge! 

Sources:

  1. Iteration synonyms – 202 Words and Phrases for Iteration | Power Thesaurus 
  2. 266 Noun Synonyms for Original | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Iteration Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
  4. Iteration | Nice Translator