English

Noun

relative complement ‎(plural relative complements)

1. (set theory) Given two sets A and B, the relative complement of A in B is the set that contains exactly those elements belonging to B but not to A.

Synonyms

• set-theoretic difference

Usage notes

• In mathematical expressions, the relative complement of A in B is denoted B ∖ A according to the ISO 31-11 standard (sometimes written B − A, but this notation is ambiguous, as in some contexts it can be interpreted as the set of all b − a, where b is taken from B and a from A).

Translations