brute force

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA: /bɹut ˈfɔɹs/

Noun

brute force (uncountable)

  1. A method of accomplishing something primarily by means of strength, without the use of mechanical aids or, in combat, without strategic planning or tactics.
  2. (computer science) A method of computation wherein all permutations of a problem are tried manually until one is found that provides a solution, in contrast to the implementation of a more intelligent algorithm.
    E.g. to find the set of all positive integers that are multiples of seven, a brute force algorithm would search through all positive integers, checking each one to see if it is a multiple of seven, whereas a more intelligent algorithm might simply multiply the set of all positive integers by seven.

Usage notes

  • Not used with an article.
    We lifted the car by brute force.

Read in another language

This page is available in 4 languages

Last modified on 8 February 2013, at 17:34