lowest common denominator
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Origin of lowest common denominator
First recorded in 1935–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
lowest common denominator
- the smallest integer or polynomial that is exactly divisible by each denominator of a set of fractionsAbbreviation: LCD, lcd Also called: least common denominator
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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
lowest common denominator
[lō′ĭst]
- The least common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. For example, the lowest common denominator of 13 and 34 is 12.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
lowest common denominator
The smallest number that can be divided evenly into two other numbers (see common denominator). When fractions with different denominators are added together, their denominators have to be made the same; thus, fractions with denominators of nine and twelve have thirty-six as a lowest common denominator. Seventy-two and 108 are also common denominators for fractions with denominators of nine and twelve, but thirty-six is the lowest.
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Note
The term lowest common denominator is often used to indicate a lowering of quality resulting from a desire to find common ground for many people: “This fall's TV programming finds the lowest common denominator of taste.”
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.