nilpotent
/ˈnɪlˌpoʊtənt/
adjective
- (in mathematics) Describing an element (such as a number or matrix) that becomes zero when raised to some positive integer power.
- The teacher explained that a nilpotent element in a ring has a power equal to zero.
- In linear algebra, a nilpotent matrix eventually becomes the zero matrix when multiplied by itself enough times.
- Students learned that a nilpotent operator has only zero as its eigenvalue.