complement

In mathematics, the set of the elements within the universal set that are not contained in the designated set. For example, if the universal set is the set of all positive whole numbers and the designated set S is the set of all even numbers, then the complement of S (denoted S ') is the set of all odd numbers.

complement

In grammar, a word or phrase that follows the verb and tells us about the subject (‘John was an accountant’, ‘Jane appeared bored’). Noun and adjective complements follow intransitive verbs such as ‘to be’, ‘to seem’, ‘to become’. The complement is, therefore, an ‘object equivalent’, relating to the subject rather than the verb.