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fraction

Syllabification: (frac·tion)
Pronunciation: /ˈfrakSHən/
Translate fraction | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fraction

noun

  • 1a numerical quantity that is not a whole number (e.g., 1/ 2, 0.5).
  • a small or tiny part, amount, or proportion of something:he hesitated for a fraction of a second her eyes widened a fraction
  • a dissenting group within a larger one.
  • each of the portions into which a mixture may be separated by a process in which the individual components behave differently according to their physical properties.
  • 2 (usually the Fraction) (in the Christian Church) the breaking of the Eucharistic bread.

Origin:

late Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin fractio(n-) 'breaking (bread)', from Latin frangere 'to break'

fraction in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fraction in the British & World English dictionary

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