DECIMAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does decimal mean? 

• DECIMAL (noun)
  The noun DECIMAL has 2 senses:

1. a proper fraction whose denominator is a power of 10

2. a number in the decimal system

  Familiarity information: DECIMAL used as a noun is rare.

• DECIMAL (adjective)
  The adjective DECIMAL has 1 sense:

1. numbered or proceeding by tens; based on ten

  Familiarity information: DECIMAL used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECIMAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A proper fraction whose denominator is a power of 10

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

decimal; decimal fraction

Hypernyms ("decimal" is a kind of...):

proper fraction (a fraction with a numerator smaller than the denominator)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "decimal"):

circulating decimal; recurring decimal; repeating decimal (a decimal with a sequence of digits that repeats itself indefinitely)

Derivation:

decimalise; decimalize (change from fractions to decimals)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A number in the decimal system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("decimal" is a kind of...):

number (a concept of quantity involving zero and units)

Derivation:

decimalise; decimalize (change to the decimal system)

• DECIMAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Numbered or proceeding by tens; based on ten

Synonyms:

decimal; denary

Context example:

the decimal system

Similar:

quantitative (expressible as a quantity or relating to or susceptible of measurement)

 Context examples 

An international decimal system of weights and measures, in which the basic units are the meter for length, the gram for weight, and the liter for volume.

(Metric System, NCI Thesaurus)

The international standard ISO 31 requires that angles be stated in degrees and decimal fractions of the degree, without use of arcminutes and arcseconds.

(Minute Unit of Plane Angle, NCI Thesaurus)

An indication of the specific number of digits to be expected to the right of the decimal point in a line of numbers.

(Decimal Place, NCI Thesaurus)

A unit for expressing a percentage as a decimal whereby the total value is measured as a fraction of the numeric 1.

(Fraction of 1, NCI Thesaurus)

A real number with a fixed number of digits following the decimal or radix point.

(Fixed-Point Number, NCI Thesaurus)

A number that can have its decimal point in any position.

(Float, NCI Thesaurus)

The International System of Units (Systeme International d'Unites, SI) is a decimal system of weights and measures derived from and extending the metric system of units established through the Treaty of the Meter (Convention du Metre) signed in Paris in 1875 and currently signed by 48 nations including all the major industrialized countries.

(International System of Units, NCI Thesaurus)