All 11 Uses of

function
in
The Adventures of Augie March

Einhorn was a cripple who didn't have the use of either, not even partial; only his hands still functioned, and they weren't strong enough to drive a wheel chair.†
Chpt 5 *

functioned = worked or operated

But it was only one function of hundreds, some even more menial, more personal, others calling for cleverness and training—secretary, deputy, agent, companion.†
Chpt 5

In the nature of the case it couldn't be avoided; and if you were going to prepare impoverished young folks for difficult functions, or if merely you were going to keep them out of trouble by having them read books, there were going to be some remarkable results begotten out of the mass.†
Chpt 8

The eyes, however, trained so they were foreign to anything but their long-time function, they had no personal regard.†
Chpt 9

I noticed how quick his fingers were, in and out of his vest pockets where many of his functions started.†
Chpt 16

Or go die in one subdivided role or another, with one or two thoughts, these narrow, persistent ideas of your function.†
Chpt 21

Well, never mind about Ozymandias now being just trunkless legs; in his day the humble had to live in his shadow, and so do we live under shadow, with acts of faith in functioning of inventions, as up in the stratosphere, down in the subway, crossing bridges, going through tunnels, rising and falling in elevators where our safety is given in keeping.†
Chpt 22

Boredom therefore can arise from the cessation of habitual functions, even though these may be boring too.†
Chpt 25

Now instead of such comparison you think, Let's see it instead not even as the grass but as a band of particles, a universal shawl of them, and these particles may have functions but certainly lack fates.†
Chpt 26

And there's even an attitude of mind which finds it almost disgusting to be a person and not a function.†
Chpt 26 *

Definitions:

(1) (function as in: Its main function is to...)
purpose, job, or natural activity
(2) (function as in: can't function well without sleep)
work or operate -- sometimes to work or operate normally or in a particular way
(3) (function as in: I'm attending a function tonight)
a social event or ceremony -- especially one attended for work or out of a sense of duty
(4) (function as in: oxygen is a function of altitude)
saying one results from another; or saying that the amount of one thing is dependent upon the value of another.

If x is a function of y, then x results from y; or the amount of x can be calculated based on the amount of y.
(5) (function as in: Amazon's new search function)
computer code that performs a specific task
(6) (function as in: a mathematical function)
a formula or mathematical expression that describes a relationship between variables
(7) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

For more specialized meanings in math and chemistry, see a comprehensive dictionary.