sieve of Eratosthenes
noun phrase
                                                                                                                            
                                                            sieve of Er·a·tos·the·nes
                    
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                  -ˌer-ə-ˈtäs-thə-ˌnēz  
                                                      
                                                          
            
                                
              
          
                                                      : a procedure for finding prime numbers that involves writing down the odd numbers from 2 up in succession and crossing out every third number after 3, every fifth after 5 including those already crossed out, every seventh after 7, and so on with the numbers that are never crossed out being prime                                      
                
                    
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