remainder

American  

[ri-mayn-der] / rɪˈmeɪn dər /

noun

• remainders
  plural

1. something that remains or is left.

   the remainder of the day.

   Synonyms:

   overage, rest, excess, remnant, residuum

2. a remaining part.

3. Arithmetic.

   1. the quantity that remains after subtraction.

   2. the portion of the dividend that is not evenly divisible by the divisor.

4. Mathematics. the difference between a function or a number and an approximation to it.

5. Law. a future interest so created as to take effect at the end of another estate, as when property is conveyed to one person for life and then to another.

6. Philately. remainders, the quantities of stamps on hand after they have been demonetized or otherwise voided for postal use.

7. a copy of a book remaining in the publisher's stock when its sale has practically ceased, frequently sold at a reduced price.

---

adjective

1. remaining; leftover.

verb (used with object)

• remainders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• remaindered,
  past participle,  past
• remaindering
  present participle

1. to dispose of or sell as a remainder.

remainder British  

/ rɪˈmeɪndə /

noun

1. a part or portion that is left, as after use, subtraction, expenditure, the passage of time, etc

   the remainder of the milk

   the remainder of the day

2. maths

   1. the amount left over when one quantity cannot be exactly divided by another

      for 10 ÷ 3, the remainder is 1

   2. another name for difference

3. property law a future interest in property; an interest in a particular estate that will pass to one at some future date, as on the death of the current possessor

4. a number of copies of a book left unsold when demand slows or ceases, which are sold at a reduced price by the publisher

---

verb

1. (tr) to sell (copies of a book) as a remainder

remainder Scientific  

/ rĭ-mān′dər /

1. In division, the difference between the dividend and the product of the quotient and divisor. Dividing 14 by 3 gives 4 and a remainder of 2.

---

Synonym Usage

Remainder, balance, residue, surplus refer to a portion left over. Remainder is the general word ( the remainder of one's life ); it may refer in particular to the mathematical process of subtraction: 7 minus 5 leaves a remainder of 2. Balance, originally a bookkeeper's term referring to the amount of money left to one's account ( a bank balance ), is often used as a synonym for remainder : the balance of the day. Residue is used particularly to designate what remains as the result of a process; this is usually a chemical process, but the word may also refer to a legal process concerning inheritance: a residue of ash left from burning leaves. Surplus suggests that what remains is in excess of what was needed: a surplus of goods.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• remainders
  plural

Participles

• remaindering
  present
• remaindered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• remainder
  simple
• remainders
  simple
• have remaindered
  perfect
• has remaindered
  perfect
• am remaindering
  progressive
• are remaindering
  progressive
• is remaindering
  progressive
• have been remaindering
  perfect progressive
• has been remaindering
  perfect progressive

Past

• remaindered
  simple
• had remaindered
  perfect
• was remaindering
  progressive
• were remaindering
  progressive
• had been remaindering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will remainder
  simple
• will have remaindered
  perfect
• will be remaindering
  progressive
• will have been remaindering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of remainder

1350–1400; Middle English from Anglo-French, noun use of Middle French remaindre “to remain ”

Explanation

The remainder is whatever is left after the rest has been used up or taken away. In math, if you know the remainder is the number that's left after you divide, that will help you remember the meaning of this word: a remainder is what you have when others things are gone. If you ate all but one piece of a pizza, the one slice left is the remainder. If you spend all your cash except for $4, that's your remainder. Since remaining means to stay somewhere, a remainder is something that stays put.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remainder remainders remaindered

He is likely to receive the remainder, now about $366 million, when the acquisition closes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

It said those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by club owners Abu Dhabi United Group.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Most will have expected to spend 40% of their sentence behind bars - with the remainder served in the community.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Days later, his team shared that the 81-year-old rock star successfully underwent “a routine coronary stent procedure” and had to cancel the remainder of his tour and residency dates through September as he recovered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

He grimaced as if in excruciating pain, sucked in air through his teeth, rubbed the elbow, and claimed he couldn’t use his arm for the remainder of the meal.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

On the other are the remainders – the gamers, the “Real World” guy and that “Bachelor,” who devised a strategy that led to them rooting out two Traitors.

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2024

Now, as they slurp the remainders of their lunch, she cautiously allows the words to escape.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2023

Not only have they lost newspapers, the remainders are mostly owned by parsimonious national chains.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

One way to count them is to partition them into a finite number of baskets, based on the remainders one gets when dividing a prime by another prime, denoted byp.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 15, 2022

I pulled it out and saw the name of the man who’d helped Mr. Highgate and who was looking after Mr. Leroy’s earthy remainders, Mr. Benjamin Alston!

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Yes, off-brands and remaindered products made up the bulk of offerings, but treasures awaited for those who regularly came.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024

Dog Eared Books is perfectly cluttered, with a mix of new, used and remaindered books.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2019

Could the front office trade possibly 17 draft picks and some remaindered No. 10 jerseys to move up for Sam Darnold, and then fly to a Caribbean island to celebrate?

From Washington Post ● Sep. 11, 2017

Didn’t I just buy that, remaindered, for 25 cents?

From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2015

He never had a sale, never reduced a price and never remaindered.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• rest