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Mathematics vocabulary · Reading Maths Aloud

Decimal point

Meaning in mathematics, with examples

nounCore term

In mathematics, decimal point means: The dot that separates the whole-number part of a number from its decimal part, as in 3.75; English uses a point where Turkish uses a comma.

In Turkish: ondalık ayırıcı, ondalık virgül

How it is used

Numbers are read with 'point', and the digits after it are said one by one: 3.75 is 'three point seven five', not 'three point seventy-five'. Questions often say 'give your answer to two decimal places', meaning two digits after the point.

Example sentences

  1. Move the decimal point two places to the right to turn 0.45 into a percentage.

  2. Pi starts three point one four one five nine, and its digits after the decimal point go on forever without repeating.

Common collocations

  • decimal places
  • to two decimal places
  • move the decimal point
  • after the decimal point
  • roundTo replace a number with a simpler value close to it, to a given place value or number of decimal places; 3.476 rounded to one decimal place is 3.5.
  • fractionA number that shows part of a whole, written as one number over another, such as ¾, where 3 is the numerator and 4 is the denominator.
  • percentageAn amount expressed as a number out of 100 and written with the sign %; for example, 25% means 25 out of every 100.
  • estimateTo find an approximate value quickly, usually by rounding the numbers first, so that you can check whether an exact answer is reasonable.

More terms: Reading Maths Aloud

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