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real number

[ ree-uhl, reel ]
/ ˈri əl, ril /
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noun Mathematics.
a rational number or the limit of a sequence of rational numbers, as opposed to a complex number.
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Also called real.

Origin of real number

First recorded in 1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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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

Scientific definitions for real number

real number
[ rēəl ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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