numerator
Americannoun
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numerators
plural
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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.
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a person or thing that numbers.
noun
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maths the dividend of a fraction Compare denominator
the numerator of is 7
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a person or thing that numbers; enumerator
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of numerator
1535–45; < Late Latin numerātor a counter, numberer, equivalent to Latin numerā ( re ) to number + -tor -tor
Compare meaning
How does numerator compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
In math, the top number in a fraction is called the numerator. The numerator is the number that will be divided by the bottom number, or denominator. A common fraction looks like two numbers, one above the other, with a line between the numerator and denominator. One simple way to understand a fraction is to imagine a pizza. The denominator shows you how many equal pieces the pizza is divided into, and the numerator represents how many of those pieces you have. In Latin, numerator means "counter or numberer."
Vocabulary lists containing numerator
Arithmetic
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Number and Operations: Fractions
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Numbers and Arithmetic
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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.
See Examples For:
Staff excluded from the efficacy calculation patients who had RP1 injected in all of their tumors, but only from the numerator and not denominator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Their concern, however, stems from the level of the numerator rather than the sustainability of the denominator.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Note that the plunging ratio tells us nothing about the U.S. economy, since the economy affects both the numerator and the denominator of the ratio and therefore has no net effect on its level.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
In this case, the solute mass unit in the numerator was converted from mg to g to match the units in the denominator.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
All of these expressions, but especially 0/0, could take on any value you desire them to have, depending on the functions you put in the numerator and denominator.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
But you have so many numerators in this case that need to be overhauled, need to be fixed.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2022
To multiply fractions, we multiply the numerators and multiply the denominators.
From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020
To multiply fractions, multiply the numerators and multiply the denominators.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020
Notice that we do the same steps as when both numerators are numbers.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020
The denominators being the same, we have only to find the difference between the numerators to tell how much too short the former segment is.
From Piano Tuning A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs by J. Cree (Jerry Cree) Fischer
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.
