Matrix (noun)

1. A situation or surrounding substance within which something else originates, develops, or is contained (e.g. a matrix of ideas or a matrix of cells).
2. A rectangular array of quantities or expressions in rows and columns that is treated as a single entity and manipulated according to particular rules (e.g. a matrix of coefficients).
3. The cultural, social, or political environment in which something develops (e.g. the matrix of power relations in society).
4. A fine-grained material, such as clay or certain rocks, that has been deposited, consolidated, and then undergone differentiation.
5. In biology, the material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.

Origin:

Late middle english (in the senses ‘uterus’ and ‘die’) via old french from latin matrix ‘breeding animal, womb’, later ‘mould, die’, from mater ‘mother’.

Examples:

1. The company's hiring process was a complex matrix of interviews and evaluations.
2. To solve the equations, the coefficients of the matrix had to be multiplied.
3. The matrix of power relations within the government was constantly shifting.
4. The geologist found a matrix of shale and limestone in the rock formation.
5. The osteocytes are embedded within a bony matrix.