numerical

American  

[noo-mer-i-kuhl, nyoo-] / nuˈmɛr ɪ kəl, nyu- /

Also numeric

adjective

1. of or relating to numbers; of the nature of a number.

2. indicating a number.

   numerical symbols.

3. bearing or designated by a number.

4. expressed by numbers instead of letters.

   numerical cryptography; numerical equations.

5. of or relating to one's skill at working with numbers, solving mathematical problems, etc..

   tests for rating numerical aptitude.

6. Mathematics. absolute.

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numerical British  

/ njuːˈmɛrɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a number or numbers

2. measured or expressed in numbers

   numerical value

3. maths

   1. containing or using constants, coefficients, terms, or elements represented by numbers Compare literal

      3x² + 4y = 2 is a numerical equation

   2. another word for absolute

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Other Word Forms

• numerically adverb
• numericalness noun
• unnumerical adjective

Etymology

Origin of numerical

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin numer(us) number + -ical

Explanation

Anything numerical is related to numbers or can be expressed in numbers. Your height is a numerical concept, but your love for your friends is not. You will learn many numerical concepts in math class: anything that has to do with numbers in any way can be referred to as numerical. Mathematicians deal with numerical issues, but poets do not — unless they're counting syllables, which is numerical because it involves numbers. Some people are better with numerical concepts than others — like accountants, statisticians, and math teachers.

Example Sentences

That’s 630,000 more, in numerical terms, the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 and up from 29.8% a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

The company said a numerical improvement in progression-free survival was observed in the trial and that the drug combination was well tolerated, with adverse events consistent with the known safety profiles of each treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

And at GCSE, there was a proposal to move to the grading system used in England and Wales, where a numerical system from 9-1 is used where 9 is the highest grade.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh led the theoretical modeling and numerical simulations.

From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2026

Nowadays we are able to fix pitch using an electronic, measurement, Hertz, which gives each pitch a numerical value, though we have stuck with the alphabetical names for ease of use.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall