rational number

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. a number that can be expressed exactly by a ratio of two integers.

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rational number British  

noun

1. any real number of the form a / b , where a and b are integers and b is not zero, as 7 or 7/3

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rational number Scientific  

1. A number that can be expressed as an integer or a quotient of integers. For example, 2, −5, and 1/2 are rational numbers.

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Etymology

Origin of rational number

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

If the two new arrangements contained repeating patterns, the length of their translation vectors should have been related to each other—specifically, their ratio should have been a rational number.

From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023

To decide if an integer is a rational number, we try to write it as a ratio of two integers.

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

We have seen that every integer is a rational number, since a = a for any integer, a.

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

This extension will ultimately allow us to differentiate xq, where q is any rational number.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Go on and on to infinity; since every rational number is on the seating chart, every rational number will eventually be covered by a carpet.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife