real number

[ree-uh l, reel]

noun Mathematics.

a rational number or the limit of a sequence of rational numbers, as opposed to a complex number.

Origin of real number

First recorded in 1905–10

Also called real.

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

British Dictionary definitions for real number

real number

noun

a number expressible as a limit of rational numbersSee number (def. 1)

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

real number in Science

real number

[rē′əl]

A number that can be written as a terminating or nonterminating decimal; a rational or irrational number. The numbers 2, -12.5, 37, and pi (π) are all real numbers.