numerator

[noo-muh-rey-ter, nyoo-]

See more synonyms for numerator on Thesaurus.com

noun

Arithmetic. the term of a fraction, usually above the line, that indicates the number of equal parts that are to be added together; the dividend placed over a divisor: The numerator of the fraction 2/3 is 2.Compare denominator(def 1).
a person or thing that numbers.

Origin of numerator

1535–45; < Late Latin numerātor a counter, numberer, equivalent to Latin numerā(re) to number + -tor -tor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for numerator

sum, total, figure, statistic, count, digit, emblem, prime, symbol, character, sign, cipher, cardinal, fraction, representation, numeral, ordinal, googol, numerator, integer

Examples from the Web for numerator

Historical Examples of numerator

There was a numerator, and that was Hugh; there was a nought below and that was she.
Dodo's Daughter
E. F. Benson
The denominator of decimals is never written, the dot placed before the first figure of the numerator expressing its value.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
A vulgar fraction is reduced to a decimal by dividing the numerator (increased sufficiently with ciphers) by the denominator.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
One factor in the numerator and one in the denominator make a “pair” of factors.
Turning and Boring
Franklin D. Jones
It is indicated at the extreme right of the numerator in the classification.
The Science of Fingerprints
Federal Bureau of Investigation

British Dictionary definitions for numerator

numerator

noun

maths the dividend of a fractionthe numerator of 7/8 is 7 Compare denominator
a person or thing that numbers; enumerator

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

Word Origin and History for numerator

1540s, from Late Latin numerator "counter, numberer," agent noun from numerat-, past participle stem of numerare "to count, number," from numerus "a number" (see number (n.)).

numerator in Science

numerator

[nōō′mə-rā′tər]

A number written above or to the left of the line in a common fraction to indicate the number of parts of the whole. For example, 2 is the numerator in the fraction 27.

numerator in Culture

numerator

In mathematics, the number that appears on the top of a fraction. In the fraction 2/3, the numerator is 2. (Compare denominator.)