rule of three
- the method of finding the fourth term in a proportion when three terms are given.
Show More
Origin of rule of three
First recorded in 1585–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rule of three
Historical Examples
It is as if we were to talk of the colour of sound, or the longitude of the rule-of-three.
Short Studies on Great SubjectsJames Anthony Froude
And I was by no means one to puzzle it out, as I would a sum in the rule-of-three.
I do not require to examine on this point, as I consider it to be a rule-of-three calculation.
Diary in America, Series TwoFrederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)
He got into the rule-of-three without having learned numeration, addition, subtraction, and division.
When it was found that he could not do decimals, he was put back to the rule-of-three, and then pronounced incurable.
rule of three
- a mathematical rule asserting that the value of one unknown quantity in a proportion is found by multiplying the denominator of each ratio by the numerator of the other
Show More
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