Symbols Used in All Subjects

Symbols are the backbone of communication across disciplines, from mathematics and science to programming, logic, engineering, linguistics, statistics, music, and beyond. This extensive guide catalogs symbols with their meanings and uses, complete with a copy feature for easy use. Whether you're a student, professional, or enthusiast, this resource simplifies your work across subjects.

Mathematical Symbols

Essential symbols for algebra, calculus, geometry, and advanced math.

Symbol	Name	Use
+	Plus	Addition (e.g., $ 2 + 3 = 5 $)
-	Minus	Subtraction (e.g., $ 5 - 2 = 3 $)
×	Times	Multiplication (e.g., $ 4 × 3 = 12 $)
÷	Divide	Division (e.g., $ 8 ÷ 2 = 4 $)
=	Equals	Equality (e.g., $ 2 + 2 = 4 $)
≠	Not Equal	Inequality (e.g., $ 3 ≠ 5 $)
<	Less Than	Comparison (e.g., $ 2 < 5 $)
>	Greater Than	Comparison (e.g., $ 5 > 2 $)
≤	Less Than or Equal	Inclusive comparison (e.g., $ 3 ≤ 3 $)
≥	Greater Than or Equal	Inclusive comparison (e.g., $ 5 ≥ 4 $)
∞	Infinity	Unbounded quantity (e.g., limits)
∑	Sigma	Summation (e.g., $ \sum_{i=1}^{n} i $)
∫	Integral	Integration (e.g., $ \int_a^b f(x) \, dx $)
π	Pi	Circle constant (~3.14159)
√	Square Root	Root operation (e.g., $ \sqrt{9} = 3 $)
∝	Proportional	Proportionality (e.g., $ y ∝ x $)
≈	Approximately Equal	Approximation (e.g., $ 3.14 ≈ π $)
∈	Element Of	Set membership (e.g., $ x ∈ A $)
∉	Not Element Of	Non-membership (e.g., $ x ∉ B $)
⊆	Subset	Set inclusion (e.g., $ A ⊆ B $)

Scientific Symbols

Symbols in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and earth sciences.

Symbol	Name	Use
Δ	Delta	Change (e.g., $ \Delta T $ for temperature)
λ	Lambda	Wavelength (e.g., $ \lambda = \frac{c}{f} $)
Ω	Omega	Resistance (ohms) or angular velocity
μ	Mu	Friction coefficient or micro (10⁻⁶)
α	Alpha	Angular acceleration or alpha particles
β	Beta	Beta particles or coefficients
γ	Gamma	Gamma rays or specific heat ratio
°	Degree	Angles or temperature (e.g., 25°C)
Å	Angstrom	Length (10⁻¹⁰ m) in chemistry
ħ	H-bar	Reduced Planck’s constant
σ	Sigma	Stress or electrical conductivity
ρ	Rho	Density (e.g., $ \rho = \frac{m}{V} $)
Φ	Phi	Magnetic flux or golden ratio
ψ	Psi	Wave function in quantum mechanics
☉	Sun	Astronomy symbol for the Sun

Programming Symbols

Symbols in coding languages (Python, Java, C++, etc.).

Symbol	Name	Use
+	Plus	Addition or concatenation (e.g., "a" + "b")
=	Assignment	Assign value (e.g., x = 5)
==	Equal	Equality check (e.g., if x == 5)
!	Not	Logical negation (e.g., !true)
&	Ampersand	Bitwise AND or reference (e.g., &x)
\|	Pipe	Bitwise OR or piping (e.g., x \| y)
*	Asterisk	Multiplication or pointer (e.g., *ptr)
%	Modulus	Remainder (e.g., 5 % 2 = 1)
/	Slash	Division or path (e.g., 10 / 2)
#	Hash	Comments (e.g., # comment)
^	Caret	Bitwise XOR or regex start
~	Tilde	Bitwise NOT or home directory
?	Question	Ternary operator (e.g., x ? y : z)
:	Colon	Slicing or conditionals (e.g., a:b)
->	Arrow	Function return type (e.g., int -> void)

Logic Symbols

Symbols used in formal logic and philosophy.

Symbol	Name	Use
∧	And	Logical conjunction (e.g., $ P ∧ Q $)
∨	Or	Logical disjunction (e.g., $ P ∨ Q $)
¬	Not	Logical negation (e.g., $ ¬P $)
→	Implies	Implication (e.g., $ P → Q $)
↔	If and Only If	Biconditional (e.g., $ P ↔ Q $)
∀	For All	Universal quantifier (e.g., $ ∀x $)
∃	Exists	Existential quantifier (e.g., $ ∃x $)
⊥	Bottom	Contradiction or falsity
⊤	Top	Tautology or truth
⊢	Turnstile	Entailment (e.g., $ A ⊢ B $)

Engineering Symbols

Symbols in mechanical, electrical, civil, and other engineering fields.

Symbol	Name	Use
σ	Sigma	Stress (e.g., $ \sigma = \frac{F}{A} $)
ε	Epsilon	Strain (e.g., $ \varepsilon = \frac{\Delta L}{L} $)
τ	Tau	Shear stress or torque
θ	Theta	Angle (e.g., in structural analysis)
ω	Omega	Angular velocity (e.g., $ \omega = \frac{d\theta}{dt} $)
I	Moment of Inertia	Resistance to rotation
V	Volt	Voltage in electrical circuits
A	Ampere	Current in electrical engineering
Φ	Phi	Phase angle or flux
η	Eta	Efficiency (e.g., $ \eta = \frac{P_{out}}{P_{in}} $)

Linguistics Symbols

Symbols from phonetics, syntax, and semantics (e.g., IPA).

Symbol	Name	Use
ə	Schwa	Mid-central vowel (e.g., "about")
ʃ	Esh	Voiceless postalveolar fricative (e.g., "ship")
ŋ	Eng	Velar nasal (e.g., "sing")
θ	Theta	Voiceless dental fricative (e.g., "think")
ˈ	Primary Stress	Stress marker (e.g., /ˈkæt/)
ˌ	Secondary Stress	Secondary stress (e.g., /ˌɪntərˈnæʃənl/)
ː	Length	Vowel lengthening (e.g., /aː/)
ʔ	Glottal Stop	Glottal stop (e.g., "uh-oh")
ɾ	Alveolar Tap	Flapped "r" (e.g., American "butter")
⟶	Arrow	Syntactic transformation

Statistics Symbols

Symbols in probability and statistical analysis.

Symbol	Name	Use
μ	Mu	Population mean
σ	Sigma	Population standard deviation
σ²	Sigma Squared	Population variance
x̄	X-bar	Sample mean
s	S	Sample standard deviation
P	P	Probability (e.g., $ P(A) $)
∑	Sigma	Summation of data points
ρ	Rho	Correlation coefficient
χ²	Chi-squared	Chi-squared test statistic
β	Beta	Regression coefficient

Music Symbols

Notation symbols in music theory and composition.

Symbol	Name	Use
♭	Flat	Lowers pitch by a semitone
♯	Sharp	Raises pitch by a semitone
♮	Natural	Cancels flat or sharp
𝄞	Treble Clef	Indicates G above middle C
𝄢	Bass Clef	Indicates F below middle C
♩	Quarter Note	One beat duration
♪	Eighth Note	Half beat duration
𝅗𝅥	Whole Note	Four beats duration
𝄐	Fermata	Hold note longer than written
𝄁	Repeat Sign	Repeat section

Miscellaneous Symbols

Symbols from currency, legal, typography, and general use.

Symbol	Name	Use
©	Copyright	Legal protection (e.g., © 2025)
®	Registered	Trademark registration
™	Trademark	Unregistered trademark
§	Section	Legal or document section
¶	Pilcrow	Paragraph marker
@	At	Email or mentions (e.g., @user)
$	Dollar	Currency or variable (e.g., $var)
€	Euro	Eurozone currency
£	Pound	UK currency
¥	Yen	Japanese currency
₹	Rupee	Indian currency
¢	Cent	Subunit of currency
†	Dagger	Footnote or reference marker
‡	Double Dagger	Secondary footnote marker
•	Bullet	List item marker

Symbol	Name	Use
+	Plus	Addition (e.g., \( 2 + 3 = 5 \))
-	Minus	Subtraction (e.g., \( 5 - 2 = 3 \))
×	Times	Multiplication (e.g., \( 4 × 3 = 12 \))
÷	Divide	Division (e.g., \( 8 ÷ 2 = 4 \))
=	Equals	Equality (e.g., \( 2 + 2 = 4 \))
≠	Not Equal	Inequality (e.g., \( 3 ≠ 5 \))
<	Less Than	Comparison (e.g., \( 2 < 5 \))
>	Greater Than	Comparison (e.g., \( 5 > 2 \))
≤	Less Than or Equal	Inclusive comparison (e.g., \( 3 ≤ 3 \))
≥	Greater Than or Equal	Inclusive comparison (e.g., \( 5 ≥ 4 \))
∞	Infinity	Unbounded quantity (e.g., limits)
∑	Sigma	Summation (e.g., \( \sum_{i=1}^{n} i \))
∫	Integral	Integration (e.g., \( \int_a^b f(x) \, dx \))
π	Pi	Circle constant (~3.14159)
√	Square Root	Root operation (e.g., \( \sqrt{9} = 3 \))
∝	Proportional	Proportionality (e.g., \( y ∝ x \))
≈	Approximately Equal	Approximation (e.g., \( 3.14 ≈ π \))
∈	Element Of	Set membership (e.g., \( x ∈ A \))
∉	Not Element Of	Non-membership (e.g., \( x ∉ B \))
⊆	Subset	Set inclusion (e.g., \( A ⊆ B \))

Symbol	Name	Use
Δ	Delta	Change (e.g., \( \Delta T \) for temperature)
λ	Lambda	Wavelength (e.g., \( \lambda = \frac{c}{f} \))
Ω	Omega	Resistance (ohms) or angular velocity
μ	Mu	Friction coefficient or micro (10⁻⁶)
α	Alpha	Angular acceleration or alpha particles
β	Beta	Beta particles or coefficients
γ	Gamma	Gamma rays or specific heat ratio
°	Degree	Angles or temperature (e.g., 25°C)
Å	Angstrom	Length (10⁻¹⁰ m) in chemistry
ħ	H-bar	Reduced Planck’s constant
σ	Sigma	Stress or electrical conductivity
ρ	Rho	Density (e.g., \( \rho = \frac{m}{V} \))
Φ	Phi	Magnetic flux or golden ratio
ψ	Psi	Wave function in quantum mechanics
☉	Sun	Astronomy symbol for the Sun

Symbol	Name	Use
∧	And	Logical conjunction (e.g., \( P ∧ Q \))
∨	Or	Logical disjunction (e.g., \( P ∨ Q \))
¬	Not	Logical negation (e.g., \( ¬P \))
→	Implies	Implication (e.g., \( P → Q \))
↔	If and Only If	Biconditional (e.g., \( P ↔ Q \))
∀	For All	Universal quantifier (e.g., \( ∀x \))
∃	Exists	Existential quantifier (e.g., \( ∃x \))
⊥	Bottom	Contradiction or falsity
⊤	Top	Tautology or truth
⊢	Turnstile	Entailment (e.g., \( A ⊢ B \))

Symbol	Name	Use
σ	Sigma	Stress (e.g., \( \sigma = \frac{F}{A} \))
ε	Epsilon	Strain (e.g., \( \varepsilon = \frac{\Delta L}{L} \))
τ	Tau	Shear stress or torque
θ	Theta	Angle (e.g., in structural analysis)
ω	Omega	Angular velocity (e.g., \( \omega = \frac{d\theta}{dt} \))
I	Moment of Inertia	Resistance to rotation
V	Volt	Voltage in electrical circuits
A	Ampere	Current in electrical engineering
Φ	Phi	Phase angle or flux
η	Eta	Efficiency (e.g., \( \eta = \frac{P_{out}}{P_{in}} \))