A set is Dedekind-finite when no injective function exists. In classical Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory this is equivalent to not being in bijection with a proper subset: an injective non-surjective self-map generates distinct iterates from an element outside its image, and a countably infinite subset permits a shift fixing its complement. A finite set is Dedekind-finite. Without the axiom of choice, some infinite sets can also be Dedekind-finite.
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