definition of
characteristic

[1] #1 characteristic a. typical or distinctive; "heard my friend's characteristic laugh"; "red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn"; "stripes characteristic of the zebra". wn

[2] #2 characteristic n. [feature] a prominent attribute or aspect of something; "the map showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his best characteristics". wn

[3] #3 characteristic n. a distinguishing quality. wn

[4] #4 characteristic n. the integer part (positive or negative) of the representation of a logarithm; in the expression log 643 = 2.808 the characteristic is 2. wn

[5] #5 characteristic n. [device characteristic] any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions. wn