Arithmetic operator is a symbol that tells the compiler or interpreter to perform a specific mathematical operation like addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. They're the building blocks of math in programming, as essential as a hammer is to a carpenter, and about as exciting to type out over and over again.

How to use it in a sentence

• I spent all day debugging my code before realizing I had used the wrong arithmetic operator - I felt like a complete noob, like I was back in my first year of college learning to code all over again.

• "If you keep getting errors, double check your arithmetic operators," the senior engineer said with a smirk, clearly enjoying watching the new hire struggle with basic math like a kid in remedial algebra.

If you actually want to learn more...

• Paul Graham's essays on his Lisp dialect Arc provide interesting insights into language design decisions around operators and macros. Arc at 3 Weeks dives into fn and rfn for functions.

• For a treasure trove of Lisp resources covering everything from AI to songs about the language, check out Paul Graham's meticulously curated list. Warning: Lisp rabbit hole ahead.

• If you really want to geek out on optimizing text search with techniques like indexing queries, this blog post on real-time search with Luwak and Samza will make you feel like a search wizard. Until you realize you still have to implement it.

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.