exponent

UK: /ɪkˈspəʊnənt/

US: /ɪkˈspoʊnənt/

US: (ik spō′nənt or, esp. for 3, ek′spō nənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ex•po•nent /ɪkˈspoʊnənt/   n. [countable]

1. a person or thing that supports or explains a cause:
   The congressman is a leading exponent of free trade.
2. a person or thing that is a representative, advocate, or symbol of something:
   an exponent of the new Europe.
3. Mathematics a mathematical symbol or number placed above and after another symbol or number to denote the power to which the latter is to be raised.

ex•po•nen•tial /ˌɛkspəˈnɛnʃəl/  adj. 
ex•po•nen•tial•ly, adv. See -pon-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ex•po•nent  (ik spō′nənt or, esp. for 3, ek′spō nənt), n. 

1. a person or thing that expounds, explains, or interprets:
   an exponent of modern theory in the arts.
2. a person or thing that is a representative, advocate, type, or symbol of something:
   Lincoln is an exponent of American democracy.
3. Mathematics a symbol or number placed above and after another symbol or number to denote the power to which the latter is to be raised:
   The exponents of the quantities
   xⁿ, 2^m, y⁴, and 3⁵ are, respectively, n, m, 4, and 5.

• Latin expōnent- (stem of expōnēns), present participle of expōnere to expound; see -ent
• 1575–85

Synonyms

• 1. supporter, champion, proponent, promoter.
• 2. embodiment, personification.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

exponent / ɪkˈspəʊnənt/ noun

1. (usually followed by of) a person or thing that acts as an advocate (of an idea, cause, etc)
2. a person or thing that explains or interprets
3. a performer or interpretive artist, esp a musician
4. Also called: power, index a number or variable placed as a superscript to the right of another number or quantity indicating the number of times the number or quantity is to be multiplied by itself

adjective

1. offering a declaration, explanation, or interpretation

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin expōnere to set out, expound, from pōnere to set, place