Sentence:  Informally, an <WSD>"algorithm</WSD>" is any well-defined computational procedure that takes some value, or set of values, as input and produces some value, or set of values, as output. An <WSD>algorithm</WSD> is thus a sequence of computational steps that transform the input into the output. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.