equal

American  

[ee-kwuhl] / ˈi kwəl /

adjective

1. as great as; the same as (often followed by to orwith ).

   The velocity of sound is not equal to that of light.

2. like or alike in quantity, degree, value, etc.; of the same rank, ability, merit, etc..

   two students of equal brilliance.

   Synonyms:

   correspondent, coordinate, commensurate, proportionate

   Antonyms:

   different

3. evenly proportioned or balanced.

   an equal contest.

4. uniform in operation or effect.

   equal laws.

   Synonyms:

   invariant, regular, uniform, even

5. adequate or sufficient in quantity or degree.

   The supply is equal to the demand.

6. having adequate ability, means, or other characteristics: Their English boots were not equal to the rigors of a Canadian winter.

   He was equal to the task.

   Their English boots were not equal to the rigors of a Canadian winter.

   Synonyms:

   fitted, suited

   Antonyms:

   inadequate

7. tranquil or undisturbed.

   to confront death with an equal mind.

8. impartial or equitable.

9. Archaic. having an even surface; level.

   the treeless, equal plains.

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noun

• equals
  plural

1. a person or thing that is equal to another, as in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability.

   Synonyms:

   fellow, equivalent, match, compeer, peer, coequal

verb (used with object)

• equals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• equaled,
  past participle,  past
• equalled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• equaling,
  present participle
• equalling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to be or become equal to; meet or match.

   So far the rate of production doesn't equal the demand.

   If A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C.

2. to make or do something equal to.

   No matter how he tries, he can't equal his brother's achievements.

3. Archaic. to make equal; equalize.

4. Obsolete. to recompense fully.

equal British  

/ ˈiːkwəl /

adjective

1. identical in size, quantity, degree, intensity, etc; the same (as)

2. having identical privileges, rights, status, etc

   all men are equal before the law

3. having uniform effect or application

   equal opportunities

4. evenly balanced or proportioned

   the game was equal between the teams

5. (usually foll by to) having the necessary or adequate strength, ability, means, etc (for)

   to be equal to one's work

6. another word for equivalent

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noun

1. a person or thing equal to another, esp in merit, ability, etc

   he has no equal when it comes to boxing

verb

1. (tr) to be equal to; correspond to; match

   my offer equals his

2. to become equal or level

3. (tr) to make, perform, or do something equal to

   to equal the world record

4. archaic (tr) to make equal

equal Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing equal

• other things being equal
• separate but equal

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Usage

See unique.

The use of more equal as in from now on their relationship will be a more equal one is acceptable in modern English usage. Equally is preferred to equally as in sentences such as reassuring the victims is equally important. Just as is preferred to equally as in sentences such as their surprise was just as great as his

Synonym Usage

Equal, equivalent, tantamount imply a correspondence between two or more things. Equal indicates a correspondence in all respects or in a particular respect: A dime is equal to 10 cents (that is, in purchasing power). Equivalent indicates a correspondence in one or more respects, but not in all: An egg is said to be the equivalent of a pound of meat in nutritive value. Tantamount, a word of limited application, is used of immaterial things that are equivalent: The prisoner's refusal to answer was tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonequal
  adjective
• quasi-equal
  adjective
• subequal
  adjective
• equally
  adverb
• quasi-equally
  adverb
• subequally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• equals
  plural

Participles

• equaling
  present
• equalling
  present
• equaled
  past
• equalled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• equal
  simple
• equals
  simple
• have equaled
  perfect
• have equalled
  perfect
• has equaled
  perfect
• has equalled
  perfect
• am equaling
  progressive
• am equalling
  progressive
• are equaling
  progressive
• are equalling
  progressive
• is equaling
  progressive
• is equalling
  progressive
• have been equaling
  perfect progressive
• have been equalling
  perfect progressive
• has been equaling
  perfect progressive
• has been equalling
  perfect progressive

Past

• equaled
  simple
• equalled
  simple
• had equaled
  perfect
• had equalled
  perfect
• was equaling
  progressive
• was equalling
  progressive
• were equaling
  progressive
• were equalling
  progressive
• had been equaling
  perfect progressive
• had been equalling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will equal
  simple
• will have equaled
  perfect
• will have equalled
  perfect
• will be equaling
  progressive
• will be equalling
  progressive
• will have been equaling
  perfect progressive
• will have been equalling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of equal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English adjective from Latin aequālis “equal, like,” equivalent to aequ(us) “even, plain, just” + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Things that are the same size or have the same traits are said to be equal. When it comes to people, being equal means everyone has the same rights and opportunities — and responsibilities. When two or more things are level or balanced, they are said to be equal. This balance can refer to volume, weight, or quantity, or any other trait being compared. In a contest in which each side has the same chance of winning, the match is said to be equal. And when a person is considered at the same level with another in some respect, he or she is said to be that person's equal.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equal equals equaled equalled equaling equalling

In the midst of all of that, McBurnie powered a header on goal, but Oblak was equal to it.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

We made a bad, bad decision: We decided that my brother and I would be co-trustees, with equal and independent authority.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

And I’m no fool; having seen all of Anderson’s “Resident Evil” films, I know they are not created equal.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

According to current understanding, the Big Bang should have produced matter and antimatter in equal amounts.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

But she squared her shoulders and met every curious gaze with an equal stare.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

He said the conversation stood out to him because of how "pleasant" it was and said Catherine made him like they were "both equals".

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

"It's not as straightforward as 'high temperature equals collapse,'" Kristen Cook, a geomorphologist at the Grenoble Alpes University in France, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Harder contact obviously equals better results,” Fuller said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

The pre-IPO perpetual contracts translate directly to Anthropic’s market capitalization via a $1.00 point equals $100 billion valuation index model.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Washington is the capital of the United States of America, or 1 centimetre equals approximately 0.39 inches.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

I doubt whether this production, impeccably directed by Joe Mantello, could be equaled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Folarin Balogun’s two goals in that game equaled another record from 1930, which was the last time a U.S. player had multiple goals in a World Cup game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

Brasília’s budget deficit was a gaping 9.4% of GDP in April, while government debt equaled 80.4% of output, according to central bank data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

The latter equaled about 8% of revenue in the most recent quarter.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

Anyway, none of them equaled the necklace Hattie had taken from me.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Smart and Janney have both now equalled the record for the most acting wins ever, shared with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Even when imported electricity was taken into account, the amount of renewables equalled the previous record of 50%, set in 2022/23.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

There were 112 deaths of care leavers aged 18 to 24 notified in 2025, which the review said equalled about 130 deaths per 100,000 care leavers.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Messi equalled Telmo Zarra's 251-goal mark - set in 1955 by the Athletic Club forward - with a free-kick, before breaking it and stretching it with a third.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

It would be nice if one day the number of apostrophes properly placed in it’s equalled exactly the number of apostrophes properly omitted from its, instead of the other way round.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

That goal was her 116th for the club, equaling Fran Kirby's record for the most goals for Chelsea in all competitions.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

The NYSE’s Advance-Decline Line is still 1,018 net advances away from equaling its own all-time high.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Only 11 men have more major wins than McIlroy, with his tally of six now equaling Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Last year, the company introduced what it calls the “AT&T guarantee,” which provides fiber and wireless customers with credits equaling a full day of service for outages, depending on certain details.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026

Altogether, his craft was a work of great skill, and Nhamo despaired of equaling it.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Korda in particular set the tone early on Friday with her fifth win with Corpuz, equalling the points record for pairings set by Europe's Alison Nicholas and Laura Davies.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

On September 2, the southwestern municipality of El Granado reached 45.7C, equalling the temperature record for the month and marking the highest temperature in Spain this year.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Messi began the tournament with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Algeria as he became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history, equalling Miroslav Klose's record of 16, which had stood since 2014.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Bank on those equalling 1% to 3% of your property’s value, or more.

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

She was a big woman, in stature almost equalling her husband, and corpulent besides: she showed virile force in the contest—more than once she almost throttled him, athletic as he was.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• balanced
• commensurate
• comparable
• corresponding
• equivalent
• identical
• proportionate