real number

[ ree-uhl, reel ]

noun

, Mathematics.

1. a rational number or the limit of a sequence of rational numbers, as opposed to a complex number.

real number

noun

1. a number expressible as a limit of rational numbers See number

real number

/ rē′əl /

1. A number that can be written as a terminating or nonterminating decimal; a rational or irrational number. The numbers 2, −12.5, 3 7 , and pi (π) are all real numbers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of real number¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

On the show, a random real number was chosen between 0 and 100.

From FiveThirtyEight

That's probably an undercount of the real number of infections across the country, as not everyone who is infected gets tested.

From Axios

The real number is much higher once its 20th Television Studio, FX, Searchlight, National Geographic and ESPN services are factored in, as well as the Hulu and ESPN Plus platforms.

From Washington Post

Once you get rid of that unwieldy infinity of real numbers lots of things are easier to solve, like quantum gravity.

From Science News

The true price of this item was a randomly selected real number between 0 and 100.

From FiveThirtyEight

The real number is much higher as many items are stolen from undocumented “virgin” sites.

From The Daily Beast

Remes, by the way, says he and the others lawyers believe that the real number of hunger strikers is closer to 130.

From The Daily Beast

The economist Justin Wolfers estimates based on combining the two that the real number is more like 30,000.

From The Daily Beast

In 2011, women reported 3,000 instances; the real number is thought to be 19,000.

From The Daily Beast

But an RJC board member told the investigative website Open Secrets that the real number was more like $15 million.

From The Daily Beast

We have seen reason for believing that in the oldest days the real number of the real hides was largely over-estimated.

From Project Gutenberg

The teacher names successively several numbers, and asks whether they think the real number will be greater or less.

From Project Gutenberg

Now the real number of worlds surpasses all human calculation, either written or possible to be written.

From Project Gutenberg

We find in a cover by General Sheaffe, that the first report of the cannon taken was one-third short of the real number.

From Project Gutenberg

They are real, perhaps, in the sense that two is a real number as opposed to √-2, which is imaginary.

From Project Gutenberg