COMBINATIONS
\kˌɒmbɪnˈe͡ɪʃənz], \kˌɒmbɪnˈeɪʃənz], \k_ˌɒ_m_b_ɪ_n_ˈeɪ_ʃ_ə_n_z]\
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(Math.) Of different things, are the different collections, that can be made of them without reference to the order in which they are arranged. If there were ten balls marked 1, 2, etc., it would be possible to select three of them (e.g. 2, 7, 8 ; 5, 4, 9, etc.) in 120 different ways; there are, therefore, 120 combinations of ten things taken three and three together.
By Henry Percy Smith