a ratio of algebraic quantities similarly expressed.
Chemistry. (in a volatile mixture) a component whose range of boiling point temperatures allows it to be separated from other components by fractionation.
a part as distinct from the whole of anything; portion or section: The meeting started with a fraction of us present.
a very small part or segment of anything; minute portion: Only a fraction of the work was completed on time.
a very small amount; a little bit: It was only a fraction away from completion.
a piece broken off; fragment or bit.
the act of breaking.
Ecclesiastical. (in a Eucharistic service) the breaking of the Host.
verb (used with or without object)
to divide or break into fractions, sections, factions, etc.: Dissension threatens to fraction the powerful union.
Origin of fraction
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fraccioun, from Late Latin frāctiōn- (stem of frāctiō) “a breaking (in pieces),” equivalent to Latin frāct(us) (past participle of frangere “to break, shatter”; see break) + -iōn--ion
As a result, Phobos appears large enough to blot out a large fraction of the sun as seen from the surface of Mars.
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She and her colleagues used a model that compared fantasy players’ win fractions during the first half of a series of competitions against their win fractions over the second half.
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China’s gross savings rate, as a fraction of its gross domestic product, dropped from a peak of 52 percent in 2008 to 46 percent in 2018, while India’s fell from 37 percent in 2007 to 30 percent in 2018.
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There’s a precise way in which a matching Set triple can be thought of as an arithmetic progression, and just as with lists of whole numbers, you can ask what fraction of the cards you must lay down to be sure of finding at least one triple.
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Since 77 is an odd number, we cannot reduce this fraction to have a lower power of 2 in the denominator, so 5 or 6 generations will not work.
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It has a third of the budget and a fraction of the maritime vessels.
A mathematical expression representing the division of one whole number by another. Usually written as two numbers separated by a horizontal or diagonal line, fractions are also used to indicate a part of a whole number or a ratio between two numbers. Fractions may have a value of less than one, as with 1/2, or equal to one, as with 2/2, or more than one, as with 3/2. The top number of a fraction is the numerator and the bottom number is the denominator.
A number that compares part of an object or a set with the whole, especially the quotient of two whole numbers written in the form ab. The fraction 12, which means 1 divided by 2, can represent such things as 10 pencils out of a box of 20, or 50 cents out of a dollar. See also decimal fractionimproper fractionproper fraction.