repeating decimal

American

noun

Mathematics.

a decimal numeral that, after a certain point, consists of a group of one or more digits repeated ad infinitum, as 2.33333 …. or 23.0218181818 ….

repeating decimal British

noun

another name for recurring decimal

"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

repeating decimal Scientific

/ rĭ-pē′tĭng /

A decimal in which a pattern of one or more digits is repeated indefinitely, such as 0.353535 …

Etymology

Origin of repeating decimal

First recorded in 1765–75

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.

In case the repeating decimal expressing the exact quotient is required, the following method will be found convenient: Rule for division.

From Project Gutenberg

It is like a repeating decimal, over and over again, each figure drawing the next after it.

From Project Gutenberg

A repeating decimal in the answer might kill him.

From Project Gutenberg

True, America is free; but in order to establish tradition some one must be a repetend—a repeating decimal.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023