of or pertaining to difference or diversity.

constituting a difference; distinguishing; distinctive

a differential feature.

exhibiting or depending upon a difference or distinction.

Physics, Machinery . pertaining to or involving the difference of two or more motions, forces, etc.

Mathematics . pertaining to or involving a derivative or derivatives.

a difference or the amount of difference, as in rate, cost, quantity, degree, or quality, between things that are comparable.

Also called differential gear. Machinery . an epicyclic train of gears designed to permit two or more shafts to rotate at different speeds, as a set of gears in an automobile permitting the rear wheels to be driven at different speeds when the car is turning.

Mathematics .

a function of two variables that is obtained from a given function, y = f ( x ), and that expresses the approximate increment in the given function as the derivative of the function times the increment in the independent variable, written as dy = f ( x ) dx.

any generalization of this function to higher dimensions.

Commerce .

the difference involved in a differential rate.

differential rate.

Physics . the quantitative difference between two or more forces, motions, etc.

a pressure differential.