noun
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any rational number that can be expressed as the sum or difference of a finite number of units, being a member of the set …–3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3…
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an individual entity or whole unit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of integer
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin: “untouched, undivided, whole, fresh,” equivalent to in- negative prefix + -teg- (combining form of tag-, root of tangere “to touch”) + -er adjective suffix; see in- 3
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Explanation
Integer is a math term for a number that is a whole number. In the equation 2 + 1/2, the number 2 is the integer and 1/2 is the fraction. Integer comes from a 16th century Latin word meaning "whole" or "intact." For a number to be considered an integer, it must be whole — no fractions or decimals here. An integer can be positive or negative. The numbers 0, 1, 2, -1, and -2 are all examples of integers.
Vocabulary lists containing integer
Pi Day Vocabulary
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Arithmetic
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The Number System
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Integer works with other medical-device companies to design, develop and manufacture critical components.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Nearby Integer Telecom, a telecommunication provider, said in a Facebook post its building was destroyed in the explosion, adding: "All our staff are safe and unharmed and business will resume as normal."
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2023
Pack for a Denver speaking engagement with the Integer Group, a marketing agency.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2019
Presented each year by poet and publisher Douglas Messerli’s L.A.-based press, Green Integer — frequently in absentia, because there’s no money attached — this award honors, simply, a “lifetime contribution to international writing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2018
Integer vitae scelerisque purus, the gentleman of assured station turns a placid countenance to all those petty vexations of breadwinning that touch him not.
From An Inquiry Into The Nature Of Peace And The Terms Of Its Perpetuation by Veblen, Thorstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
