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Mathematics vocabulary · Numbers and Operations

Least common multiple

Meaning in mathematics, with examples

nounCommon term

In mathematics, least common multiple means: The smallest positive number that is a multiple of two or more numbers; the least common multiple of 4 and 6 is 12.

In Turkish: en küçük ortak kat, EKOK

How it is used

Abbreviated LCM; British textbooks also say 'lowest common multiple'. It is used to find a common denominator and to solve problems about events that repeat at different intervals, such as buses or flashing lights.

Example sentences

  1. One bus leaves every 12 minutes and another every 18; their least common multiple, 36, tells you when they leave together again.

  2. Use the least common multiple of the denominators as the common denominator.

Common collocations

  • least common multiple of
  • lowest common multiple
  • find the LCM
  • LCM and GCD
  • greatest common divisorThe largest whole number that divides two or more numbers exactly; the greatest common divisor of 12 and 18 is 6.
  • denominatorThe number below the line in a fraction, which shows how many equal parts the whole is divided into; in 3/8, the denominator is 8.
  • multiplyTo add a number to itself a given number of times; for example, if you multiply 4 by 3, you get 12.
  • factorA number or expression that divides another exactly, with no remainder; the factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12.

More terms: Numbers and Operations

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