In mathematical analysis, asymptotic analysis is a method of describing limiting behavior. The method has applications across science. Examples are:

A simple illustration, when considering a function f(n), is when there is a need to describe its properties as n becomes very large. Thus, if f(n) = n+3n, the term 3n becomes insignificant compared to n, when n is very large. The function f(n) is said to be "asymptotically equivalent to n as n → ∞", and this is written symbolically as f(n) ~ n.