common divisor
Americannoun
noun
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A number that is a factor of two or more numbers. For example, 3 is a common divisor of both 9 and 15.
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Also called common factor
Etymology
Origin of common divisor
First recorded in 1840–50
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.
There is a mathematical explanation for the auditory illusion in my example, sometimes called the missing fundamental: The perceived pitch is the greatest common divisor of the frequencies of the sine waves present.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 24, 2018
There was no common divisor for all of the 300 cars shown.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The number of votes obtained by each of the lists is divided by the "common divisor" thus:— 8,000 divided by 3,750 = 2 with a remainder of 500.
From Proportional Representation A Study in Methods of Election by Humphreys, John H.
Totitive, tot′i-tiv, n. a number less than another having with it no common divisor but unity.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
“Boiled down,” stated Bobby Hargrew, “to its last common divisor, it is ‘Where, oh, where shall we spend our vacation?’”
From The Girls of Central High in Camp Or, the Old Professor's Secret by Morrison, Gertrude W.
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.