Proposition. A nonempty set Ω⊂X\Omega\subset X in a real vector space XX is if and only if it contains every of finitely many of its points; i.e., for all m∈Nm\in\mathbb{N}, all x1,…,xm∈Ωx_1,\dots,x_m\in\Omega, and all λi≥0\lambda_i\ge 0 with ∑i=1mλi=1\sum_{i=1}^m\lambda_i=1, we have

∑i=1mλixi∈Ω.\sum_{i=1}^m \lambda_i x_i\in\Omega.

Context. This is the "finite averaging" characterization of convexity and is used to describe convex hulls and many convex constructions.

Proof sketch. The "only if" direction follows by induction on mm using the two-point definition of convexity. For "if," take m=2m=2 to recover the defining two-point condition.