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absolute value
noun
1
: a nonnegative number equal in numerical value to a given real number
2
: the positive square root of the sum of the squares of the real and imaginary parts of a complex number
Examples of absolute value in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is no absolute value to anything the first B-girl is doing.
—Dvora Meyers, WIRED, 9 Aug. 2024
To watch the greats (in absolute value) duke it out, yet again?
—Ginny Hogan, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
That paper found that tariffs had a substantial impact on trade, reducing U.S. imports of the goods that were subject to the levies, even as the absolute value of U.S. trade with China continued to rise.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
The primary sleight of hand used by Pentagon budget boosters is to measure spending not by its absolute value – how many dollars are actually being spent, adjusted for inflation – but to express Pentagon spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
—William Hartung, Forbes, 12 May 2021
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Word History
First Known Use
1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near absolute value
Cite this Entry
“Absolute value.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absolute%20value. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
absolute value
noun
: a nonnegative number that is equal to a given number with any negative sign removed
the absolute value of -3 is 3
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