COMMON DENOMINATOR • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Common denominator

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/kˈɑmən dɪnˈɑmənˌeɪtər/ Listen

noun

Denominator n.

1.

One who, or that which, gives a name; origin or source of a name. "This opinion that Aram... was the father and denomination of the Syrians in general."

2.

(Arith.) That number placed below the line in common fractions which shows into how many parts the integer or unit is divided. Note: Thus, in 3/5, 5 is the denominator, showing that the integer is divided into five parts; and the numerator, 3, shows how many parts are taken.

3.

(Alg.) That part of any expression under a fractional form which is situated below the horizontal line signifying division. Note: In this sense, the denominator is not necessarily a number, but may be any expression, either positive or negative, real or imaginary.

common denominator a number which can divide either of two or more other numbers without leaving a remainder in any of the divisions; as, 2 and 4 are common denominators of 12 and 28..

greatest common denominator the largest common denominator of two or more numbers; as, 9 is the greatest common denominator of 18 and 27..

See images of 'Common denominator'

Etymology of 'Common denominator'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar

"Common denominator" Quotes from Famous Books

... and easiest way possible. I listed all the names you reported and studied them carefully, trying to find their common denominator. They were not in the same neighborhood, so it was not locality. They were not all German, so it was not racial. I looked them up in the telephone directory, checking up the numbers of the telephones of the Jones, the Simpsons, but that gave no clue. Then, as I looked ...

— The Apartment Next Door • William Andrew Johnston

... by France and Spain. On the whole, I think France and Spain and the other Powers had some reason on their side, because it is not possible to approach this problem solely from the financial standpoint. You cannot get a financial common denominator and apply it to armaments. The varying costs of a soldier in Europe and in Japan have no relation to each other. The cost of a voluntary soldier in Great Britain has no relation to the cost of a conscript on the Continent. Therefore, ...

— Essays in Liberalism - Being the Lectures and Papers Which Were Delivered at the - Liberal Summer School at Oxford, 1922 • Various

... attainments, translations, and publications of another member of the jury of anthropology, Mrs. Zelia Nuttall, as well known in Europe as in this country. Woman's acknowledged intuition, patience, and enthusiasm are factors of great value in the problem of reducing to one common denominator the life and works of bygone man from his ...

— Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission • Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

... this couple differed, though even here they did not often clash, he being equable, if not lymphatic, and she decidedly nervous and sanguine. It was to their tastes and fancies, those smallest, greatest particulars, that no common denominator could be applied. Marchmill considered his wife's likes and inclinations somewhat silly; she considered his sordid and material. The husband's business was that of a gunmaker in a thriving city northwards, and his soul was in that business always; the ...

— Wessex Tales • Thomas Hardy

... recognize fellow churchmen in the one Church of God. We do not wish uniformity, but variety in unity; for only a Church with a most varied ministry can bring the life of God to the endlessly diverse temperaments of men and women. We are not seeking for the maximum common denominator, and insisting that every communion shall give up all its distinctive doctrines, ritual, customs and activities. We do not want any communion to be "unclothed," but "clothed upon," that what is partial may be swallowed up of fuller life. Dogmatists, be they radicals or ...

— Some Christian Convictions - A Practical Restatement in Terms of Present-Day Thinking • Henry Sloane Coffin

Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com