Skip to main content

Big-O Notation

Computer Science

A way to describe how an algorithm scales with input size.

Big-O notation expresses the upper bound on an algorithm's running time or space usage as the input grows. Common classes include O(1) constant, O(log n) logarithmic, O(n) linear, O(n log n), and O(n^2) quadratic. It lets developers compare algorithms independently of hardware.

← Back to full glossary