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PROVED (LEAN) This has been solved in the affirmative and the proof verified in Lean.
Is it true that for every $\epsilon>0$ and integer $t\geq 1$, if $N$ is sufficiently large and $A$ is a subset of $[t]^N$ of size at least $\epsilon t^N$ then $A$ must contain a combinatorial line $P$ (a set $P=\{p_1,\ldots,p_t\}$ where for each coordinate $1\leq j\leq t$ the $j$th coordinate of $p_i$ is either $i$ or constant).
The 'density Hales-Jewett' problem. This was proved by Furstenberg and Katznelson [FuKa91]. A new elementary proof, which gives quantitative bounds, was proved by the Polymath project [Po12].
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This page was last edited 25 January 2026. (View history) (View the LaTeX source)

When referring to this problem, please use the original sources of Erdős. If you wish to acknowledge this website, the recommended citation format is:

T. F. Bloom, Erdős Problem #171, https://www.erdosproblems.com/171, accessed 2026-09-01

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OEIS A156989
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Could be formalisable JoshuaB
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