number line

noun

: a line of infinite extent whose points correspond to the real numbers according to their distance in a positive or negative direction from a point arbitrarily taken as zero

Examples of number line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After so many years spent peering through the fog, mathematicians are finally starting to clearly discern an array of landmarks in one of their most fundamental landscapes — the number line. —Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025

Now studies show that the concept of zero is processed in similar ways to many numbers and can be situated along a mental number line. —Michaela Maya-Mrschtik, Scientific American, 21 Oct. 2024

No longer a placeholder, the digit acquired a value and found its place on the number line, before 1. —Quanta Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024

For example, the set {2, 4, 8, 16, …}, in which each number doubles the one before it, is so spread out along the number line that it’s said to make up 0 percent of the whole numbers. —Leila Sloman, WIRED, 1 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for number line

• acridine
• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• atropine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine

Kids Definition

number line

noun

: a line without ends whose points are matched to the real numbers by their distance from a given point labeled zero