common denominator
Mathematics. a number that is a multiple of all the denominators of a set of fractions.
a trait, characteristic, belief, or the like common to or shared by all members of a group: Dedication to the cause of freedom was the common denominator of the American revolutionaries.
Origin of common denominator
1Words Nearby common denominator
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use common denominator in a sentence
A common denominator for many LGBTQ people throughout the world — in differing cultures and under divergent political systems — has been the oppression of hiding our secret love.
‘Firebird’ is an instantly classic LGBTQ love story | Rob Watson | August 24, 2021 | Washington BladeThe common denominator for successful on-screen engagements is how consumers choose to interact with their environment.
How brands and publishers are capitalizing on mobile video ad trends in 2021 | Ogury | April 6, 2021 | DigidayThe conversation ends up taking its direction, a pretty normal direction every time anyway, just because you’re the common denominator.
Danica Patrick on Why She Never Loved Racing and Her Post-Track Career | Joshua Eferighe | January 30, 2021 | Ozy“The common denominator between all of them is that their governments have created a clarity about how they would regulate different digital assets, different cryptocurrencies,” he said.
Ripple releases shortlist of 5 countries it might move to if U.S. regulation remains unclear | Claire Zillman, reporter | October 22, 2020 | FortuneThe common denominator between them was the heavy use of sales language on pages meant to be staunchly informational.
Did Google just hint at an authority profile? | Mordy Oberstein | September 21, 2020 | Search Engine Land
We kind of reduce things to the lowest common denominator, in some ways for good and in some ways not for good.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination | Mindy Farabee | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe common denominator in the most violent protests against Western actions has been when Islam had been insulted.
Why the Muslim World Isn’t Flipping Out Over the CIA Torture Report | Dean Obeidallah | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is already a damning common denominator between the two shootings: the Cleveland police department itself.
The Cleveland Cops Who Fired 137 Shots and Cried Victim | Michael Daly | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLowest common denominator campaigning and dumb pandering in this country dates back to at least the presidential election of 1800.
“Let others construct an unchallenging feminism that speaks only to the smallest common denominator,” she writes.
Being a universal common denominator of all theories, it cancels out of all of them alike.
Essays in Experimental Logic | John DeweyIn a fortuitous assembly of such people the lowest common denominator of morality is easily adopted as the standard.
The Law and the Poor | Edward Abbott ParryImpenetrable wilderness—reduced to a common denominator, thick woods.
Tom Slade on the River | Percy K. FitzhughShe is a type, an abstraction, a common denominator of ‘creamy English girls.’
Theodore Watts-Dunton | James DouglasYou cannot get a financial common denominator and apply it to armaments.
Essays in Liberalism | Various
British Dictionary definitions for common denominator
an integer exactly divisible by each denominator of a group of fractions: 1/3, 1/4, and 1/6 have a common denominator of 12
a belief, attribute, etc, held in common by members of a class or group
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 common denominator
A quantity into which all the denominators of a set of fractions may be divided without a remainder. For example, the fractions 13 and 25 have a common denominator of 15.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for common denominator
A number that will allow fractions with different denominators to be converted into fractions with the same denominator, so that these fractions can be added or subtracted. The fractions can be expressed as whole numbers divided by the common denominator. Thus, 12 is a common denominator for 1/3 and 1/4, since they can be written as 4/12 and 3/12, respectively. (See lowest common denominator.)
Notes for common denominator
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse