Venn diagram

See also: Venn-diagram and venndiagram

English

Named after British mathematician and philosopher John Venn (1834–1923).

Venn diagram (plural Venn diagrams)

(set theory) A diagram representing some sets by contours of closed shapes, such as circles or ellipses (and sometimes also the universal set as a rectangle enclosing all of these shapes), and indicating the relationships between the sets: by overlapping the shapes to show that the corresponding sets have a non-empty intersection, and by possibly (but not necessarily) enclosing all of the sets (which are proper subsets of the universal set) within a universal set (represented typically by a rectangle); such that the total number of simply connected regions is $2^{n}$ , where n is the number of depicted sets which are proper subsets of the universal set.
(by extension) The intersection of two or more things.
- 2022 May 23, Nick Vadala, “’Dogs back again”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 193rd year, number 357, page B3:
  The overlapping section of the Venn diagram of Phillies fans and mystery meat aficionados probably already knows this, but the Phils’ beloved Dollar Dog Nights appeared to be over for the season (for the uninitiated, that’s when glizzies go on sale for a buck).
- 2025 April 26, Rebecca Newman, “Spirited Away”, in FT Weekend, House & Home, page 1:
  […] the gobal “mind, body and energy healing” market size […] was estimated at nearly $80bn in 2023 and is projected to grow year on year at 26 per cent to 2030. And the Venn diagram between this world and that of real estate and architecture is increasing.

diagram representing sets by circles