Definitions for fraction
ˈfræk ʃənfrac·tion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.1 / 9 votes

1. fractionnoun

   a component of a mixture that has been separated by a fractional process

2. fractionnoun

   a small part or item forming a piece of a whole

3. fractionverb

   the quotient of two rational numbers

4. divide, fractionverb

   perform a division

   "Can you divide 49 by seven?"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. fractionnoun

   A part of a whole, especially a comparatively small part.

2. fractionnoun

   A ratio of two numbers, the numerator and the denominator, usually written one above the other and separated by a horizontal bar.

3. fractionnoun

   A component of a mixture, separated by fractionation.

4. fractionnoun

   In a eucharistic service, the breaking of the host.

5. fractionnoun

   A small amount.

6. fractionverb

   To divide or break into fractions.

7. Etymology: From Middle English fraccioun (a breaking), from Anglo-Norman, from fractio, from frangere, past participle fractus.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FRACTIONnoun

   Etymology: fraction, Fr. fractio, Latin.

   1. The act of breaking; the state of being broken.

   It hath been observed by several, that the surface of the earth hath been broke, and the parts of it dislocated; but more particularly several parcels of nature retain still the evident marks of fraction and ruin. Thomas Burnet, Theory of the Earth.

   2. A broken part of an integral.

   Neither the motion of the moon, whereby months are computed, nor the sun, whereby years are accounted, consisteth of whole numbers, but admits of fractions and broken parts. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. iv. c. 13.

   Pliny put a round number near the truth, rather than a fraction. John Arbuthnot, on Coins.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Fraction

   A fraction (from Latin: fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A common, vulgar, or simple fraction (examples: 1 2 {\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{2}}} and 17 3 {\displaystyle {\tfrac {17}{3}}} ) consists of a numerator, displayed above a line (or before a slash like 1⁄2), and a non-zero denominator, displayed below (or after) that line. Numerators and denominators are also used in fractions that are not common, including compound fractions, complex fractions, and mixed numerals. In positive common fractions, the numerator and denominator are natural numbers. The numerator represents a number of equal parts, and the denominator indicates how many of those parts make up a unit or a whole. The denominator cannot be zero, because zero parts can never make up a whole. For example, in the fraction 3/4, the numerator 3 indicates that the fraction represents 3 equal parts, and the denominator 4 indicates that 4 parts make up a whole. The picture to the right illustrates 3/4 of a cake. A common fraction is a numeral which represents a rational number. That same number can also be represented as a decimal, a percent, or with a negative exponent. For example, 0.01, 1%, and 10−2 are all equal to the fraction 1/100. An integer can be thought of as having an implicit denominator of one (for example, 7 equals 7/1). Other uses for fractions are to represent ratios and division. Thus the fraction 3/4 can also be used to represent the ratio 3:4 (the ratio of the part to the whole), and the division 3 ÷ 4 (three divided by four). The non-zero denominator rule, which applies when representing a division as a fraction, is an example of the rule that division by zero is undefined. We can also write negative fractions, which represent the opposite of a positive fraction. For example, if 1/2 represents a half-dollar profit, then −1/2 represents a half-dollar loss. Because of the rules of division of signed numbers (which states in part that negative divided by positive is negative), −1/2, −1/2 and 1/−2 all represent the same fraction – negative one-half. And because a negative divided by a negative produces a positive, −1/−2 represents positive one-half. In mathematics the set of all numbers that can be expressed in the form a/b, where a and b are integers and b is not zero, is called the set of rational numbers and is represented by the symbol Q, which stands for quotient. A number is a rational number precisely when it can be written in that form (i.e., as a common fraction). However, the word fraction can also be used to describe mathematical expressions that are not rational numbers. Examples of these usages include algebraic fractions (quotients of algebraic expressions), and expressions that contain irrational numbers, such as 2 2 {\textstyle {\frac {\sqrt {2}}{2}}} (see square root of 2) and π/4 (see proof that π is irrational).

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. Fractionnoun

   the act of breaking, or state of being broken, especially by violence

2. Fractionnoun

   a portion; a fragment

3. Fractionnoun

   one or more aliquot parts of a unit or whole number; an expression for a definite portion of a unit or magnitude

4. Fractionverb

   to separate by means of, or to subject to, fractional distillation or crystallization; to fractionate; -- frequently used with out; as, to fraction out a certain grade of oil from pretroleum

5. Etymology: [F. fraction, L. fractio a breaking, fr. frangere, fractum, to break. See Break.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Fraction

   A fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A common, vulgar, or simple fraction consists of an integer numerator, displayed above a line, and a non-zero integer denominator, displayed below that line. The numerator represents a number of equal parts and the denominator indicates how many of those parts make up a whole. For example, in the fraction 3/4, the numerator, 3, tells us that the fraction represents 3 equal parts, and the denominator, 4, tells us that 4 parts make up a whole. The picture to the right illustrates or 3/4 of a cake. Numerators and denominators are also used in fractions that are not simple, including compound fractions, complex fractions, and mixed numerals. Fractional numbers can also be written without using explicit numerators or denominators, by using decimals, percent signs, or negative exponents. An integer such as the number 7 can be thought of as having an implied denominator of one: 7 equals 7/1.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Fraction

   frak′shun, n. a fragment or very small piece: (arith.) any part of a unit: a technical term to indicate the breaking of the bread in the sacrifice of the Eucharist.—v.t. Fract (Shak.), to break, to violate.—adjs. Fract′ed (her.), having a part displaced, as if broken; Frac′tional, belonging to or containing a fraction or fractions; Frac′tionary, fractional: unimportant.—v.t. Frac′tionate, to separate the elements of a mixture by distillation or otherwise.—n. Fractionā′tion.—v.t. Frac′tionise, to break up into fractions.—n. Frac′tionlet, a small fraction.—adj. Frac′tious, ready to quarrel: cross.—adv. Frac′tiously.—ns. Frac′tiousness; Frac′ture, the breaking of any hard body: the breach or part broken: the breaking of a bone.—v.t. to break through.—Compound, Comminuted, Complicated fracture (see the respective adjectives); Greenstick fracture, a fracture where the bone is partly broken, partly bent, occurring in the limbs of children; Simple fracture, a fracture when the bone only is divided. [O. Fr. fraccion—L. fraction-em—frangĕre, fractum, to break.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FRACTION

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fraction is ranked #61585 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Fraction surname appeared 326 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Fraction.
   
   95% or 310 total occurrences were Black.
   2.7% or 9 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Arithmetic
   • Calculate
   • Chemical
   • Part

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'fraction' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3920

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'fraction' in Nouns Frequency: #1871

How to pronounce fraction?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say fraction in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of fraction in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of fraction in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of fraction in a Sentence

1. Don Rosenberg:

   The three patents found to be infringed in this case represent just a small fraction of Qualcomm's valuable portfolio of tens of thousands of patents.

2. Bernie Sanders:

   You're getting lettuce and tomatoes coming from Mexico. You're getting the shoes you're wearing, coming from China. You've got poultry coming from all over the world. Yet somehow or another, we have not been able to reimport from Diabetes Canada into the United States the products being sold in this pharmacy with FDA approval, and the drug companies that spend hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign contributions, bribing members of the Congress, in essence, who spent billions on lobbying, have been able to prevent us from having prescription drug distributors or pharmacists buying products here in Canada that are a fraction of the price.

3. Kevin Kaiser:

   The general partner owns a small fraction of this business and as result of the IDR takes out a significantly higher percentage of the business' profits and cash flows. To me, it's wrong.

4. Max Lieblich:

   Of course, it's better for the community, for the fraction of the community that loves this chalk, for this chalk to still be produced, there's incredible value to this, but the value is in using it up, not hoarding it.

5. Mark Kleiman:

   The fraction of people who are monthly users who are in fact daily users has gone way, way up.

Popularity rank by frequency of use