1. having the property that some power of the element equals zero
Usage: mathematics

Examples

• The matrix is nilpotent because its cube equals the zero matrix.
• In algebra, nilpotent elements play an important role in ring theory.
• The professor explained that nilpotent operators have special eigenvalue properties.
• Students struggled to understand why nilpotent matrices are always singular.
• The nilpotent ideal contains all elements whose powers eventually become zero.