Dictionary.com

absolute value

Save This Word!

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 .
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also called modulus.

Origin of absolute value

First recorded in 1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use absolute value in a sentence

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK