least common denominator
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of least common denominator
First recorded in 1870–75
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.
“Will there be a fight over which agency gets to be the least common denominator in setting standards for disclosure?” one research lobbyist wonders.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 10, 2022
“You’ll hear people say that it’s the least common denominator that discourages gifted kids from advancing,” said Elizabeth Hull Barnes, the math supervisor for the district.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2021
Find the least common denominator of the following rationals:
From Textbooks ● Sep. 23, 2020
Commercial TV, he said, “is struggling with how to engage in the public-affairs conversation and not to boil everything down to the least common denominator and degrade itself.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 27, 2016
We may be content if we can hit upon some least common denominator free from the controversies of metaphysics.
From Personality in Literature by Scott-James, Rolfe Arnold
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.
