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decimal point
[ des-uh-muhl point, des-muhl ]
noun
- a dot used to separate the whole part of a mixed number from its fractional part: for example, in the mixed number 32.89, the whole part is 32 whole units, the fractional part is 89 one-hundredths, and the dot that allows for the expression 32.89 is the decimal point:
If you want to multiply 14.675 by 10, just move the decimal point one place to the right to get 146.75, the correct answer.
decimal point
noun
- a full stop or a raised full stop placed between the integral and fractional parts of a number in the decimal system
decimal point
- A period used in decimal notation to separate whole numbers from fractions, as in the number 1.3, which represents 1 + 3 10 .
decimal point
- The point or dot placed to the left of decimals to separate them from the whole number portion of the decimal. When the number is spoken aloud, the word point is usually used to signify the decimal point. For example, “8.3” is read “eight point three.”
Usage
Word History and Origins
Origin of decimal point1
Example Sentences
As Marcus says, the devil is often in the details in cases like this, “some decimal point in the wrong place.”
The decimal point (or comma) was first used by the inventor of logarithms, John Napier, as early as 1616 and 1617.
Except for the omission of the decimal point, these logarithms are natural logarithms—the first of their kind ever published.
Ecks responded with a cartoon of "Miss Meekness, making a slip of the decimal point."
"Printer's error in the decimal point," returned the other, with airy impudence.
These are easily got from the corresponding percentages by shifting the decimal point one, three, or four places to the right.
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