absolute value

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noun Mathematics.

Also called numerical value. the magnitude of a quantity, irrespective of sign; the distance of a quantity from zero. The absolute value of a number is symbolized by two vertical lines, as |3| or |−3| is equal to 3.

the square root of the sum of the squares of the real and imaginary parts of a given complex number, as |a + bi| is equal to .

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Also called modulus.

Origin of absolute value

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby absolute value

absolute space, absolute temperature, absolute temperature scale, absolute threshold, absolute unit, absolute value, absolute viscosity, absolute zero, absolution, absolutism, absolutive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use absolute value in a sentence

These market forces leave every other online media organization to fight over crumbs and potentially face an extinction moment if they cannot harness the absolute value of their audiences on and offsite.
Splitting the atom: Decoupling audience from inventory unleashes power of pubs|Trevor Grigoruk|February 9, 2021|Digiday
They are to face oppression with humble persistence and absolute conviction.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
House rules require an absolute majority of members voting to choose a speaker.
Kamikaze Congress Prepares to Strike Boehner|Ben Jacobs|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Absent a body, no one can say with absolute certainty whether Castro is dead, even if all signs point in that direction.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But there's a ton of value for me in my background and my history, and losing it would be a shame.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There is reference after reference to the “black community,” “black worth ethic,” and adherence to the “black value system.”
Reverend Jeremiah Wright Was Worse Than Scalise|Ron Christie|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Other things being equal, the volume of voice used measures the value that the mind puts upon the thought.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Solely over one man therein thou hast quite absolute control.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Of course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Was a pupil of Caspar Netscher of Heidelberg, whose little pictures are of fabulous value.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
He must trust to his human merits, and not miracles, for his Sonship is of no value in this conflict.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for absolute value

absolute value

noun maths

the positive real number equal to a given real but disregarding its sign. Written | x |. Where r is positive, | r | = r = | – r |

Also called: modulus a measure of the magnitude of a complex number, represented by the length of a line in the Argand diagram: | x + i y | = √(x ² + y ²), so | 4 + 3i | = 5

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for absolute value

absolute value

The value of a number without regard to its sign. For example, the absolute value of +3 (written |;+3|;) and the absolute value of -3 (written |;-3|;) are both 3.