denominator

American  

[dih-nom-uh-ney-ter] / dɪˈnɒm əˌneɪ tər /

noun

denominators plural

1. Arithmetic. that term of a fraction, usually written under the line, that indicates the number of equal parts into which the unit is divided; divisor.

2. something shared or held in common; standard.

3. Archaic. a person or thing that denominates.

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denominator British  

/ dɪˈnɒmɪˌneɪtə /

noun

1. the divisor of a fraction, as 8 in 7/ 8 Compare numerator

2. archaic a person or thing that denominates or designates

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denominator Scientific  

/ dĭ-nŏm′ə-nā′tər /

1. The number below or to the right of the line in a fraction, indicating the number of equal parts into which one whole is divided. For example, in the fraction 2/7, 7 is the denominator.

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denominator Cultural  

1. In mathematics, the number that appears on the bottom of a fraction. In the fraction 2/3, the denominator is 3. (Compare numerator.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• denominators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of denominator

1535–45; < Medieval Latin dēnōminātor, equivalent to Latin dēnōminā ( re ) ( see denominate) + -tor -tor

Compare meaning

How does denominator compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• numerator vs. denominator

Explanation

Write a fraction like 1/2 and the denominator is the number on the bottom. In this case, the 2. Another word for denominator is divisor. Both of these words refer to the number under the line in a common fraction. Similarly, when you're talking about statistical values, a denominator refers to the whole number or population from which samples are taken. The national census, for example, gathers the total number of people and households in the country so that there is a denominator by which to compare statistics like unemployment or welfare.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

denominator denominators

I think the common denominator in all of us who love your music is that we are black sheep — the weird ones, the chronically misunderstood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

I found, unsurprisingly, that the steps people have taken vary quite significantly, but they all have one common denominator: The greens are cooked—in more ways than one.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Szymanski observes that the vast majority of successful footballing nations share another common denominator: wealth.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

But perhaps more significantly, the 50-DMA is now 35.2% above the 200-day moving average, using the 200-DMA as the denominator.

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

Death is the irreducible common denominator of all men.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

“I try to just take the most common denominators and eliminate those from the menu,” said Paltrow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

There are some common denominators causing stress on the system that will take radical reform to tackle.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2024

Expanding our knowledge of sleep behaviors across the animal kingdom, sleep researchers note, could reveal common denominators of what the behavior is for at the most basic level.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2023

With up to 20 possible ingredients and countless variations, we focused on common denominators to pare down the list to essentials.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 6, 2023

Cool Hand Luke, Brubaker, The Shawshank Redemption, and many others paint melodramatic pictures of prison life that have some common denominators.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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