quotient

American  

[kwoh-shuhnt] / ˈkwoʊ ʃənt /

noun

Mathematics.

• quotients
  plural

1. the result of division; the number of times one quantity is contained in another.

---

quotient British  

/ ˈkwəʊʃənt /

noun

1. 1. the result of the division of one number or quantity by another

   2. the integral part of the result of division

2. a ratio of two numbers or quantities to be divided

---

quotient Scientific  

/ kwō′shənt /

1. The number that results when one number is divided by another. If 6 is divided by 3, the quotient can be represented as 2, or as 6 ÷ 3, or as the fraction 6/3.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• quotients
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of quotient

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English quociens, quocient, from Latin quotiēns “how many times”

---

Explanation

When you add two numbers the answer is called the sum. When you divide two numbers the answer is called the quotient. The quotient of six divided by two is three. Quotient comes from Latin and means "how many times." That makes a lot of sense: if you divide one number by a second, you are figuring out "how many times" the second number goes into the first. Outside of math, use of the word is restricted: the IQ test is short for "Intelligence Quotient," and very rarely you might hear someone ask, "What's my quotient of cupcakes?" when they mean "What is my share?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quotient quotients

McDonald is focused on maintaining that growth across the more than 780 stores, upping the quotient of new styles and bringing products to market faster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025

But their all-pervading architectural shadow over the city is perhaps why Art Deco is "seeped into the larger public imagination, and remains relevant in Mumbai's emotional quotient", Mr Kumar added.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025

Bass also said she worried about how the disquiet would affect rebuilding in the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades, if a significant quotient of the immigrant-heavy construction workforce is scared to show up to job sites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025

The British automaker, known for two-seat convertibles with a high coolness quotient, serves this vehicle up with scissor doors and rear haunches that convey power.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

I like school, anyway, which increases the loser quotient above and beyond what most other kids would calculate, simply based on the whole two-years-younger-than-my-classmates thing.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

People with self-reported low intelligence quotients describe struggling with self-esteem issues and romantic hardships.

From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024

I’ve long grown used to having my Chineseness and Americanness quotients measured with an air of scientific precision: Which has the greater weight?

From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022

This property will also help you work with algebraic fractions—which are also quotients.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

The task where I rated the patriotic quotients of photographs was posted by an outfit called Vision.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2019

She was planning to publish a paper about the effects of Dad’s teaching methods on our intelligence quotients.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---