Meaning & use
divisor
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Meanings
nouncountable
The number that you divide another number by in a division problem.
Grammar: Countable: in 20 divided by 4, the divisor is 4.
Patterns
- the divisor of something
- divide something by the divisor
In the sum 36 divided by 9, the divisor is 9.
If the divisor is zero, the division has no answer.
Students circled the dividend in red and the divisor in blue.
nouncountable
A whole number that divides another whole number exactly, leaving no remainder.
Grammar: Countable and often followed by of: 3 is a divisor of 12.
Patterns
- a divisor of something
- a common divisor
Both 2 and 6 are divisors of 12.
The teacher asked us to list every divisor of 30.
The greatest common divisor of 18 and 24 is 6.
Word forms
| plural | divisors |
|---|
Common combinations
- greatest common divisor
- To simplify the fraction, find the greatest common divisor of the top and bottom numbers.
- common divisor
- The numbers 8 and 12 have 4 as a common divisor.
- a divisor of
- Is 7 a divisor of 49?
- proper divisor
- The proper divisors of 6 are 1, 2 and 3.
- divide by the divisor
- Divide the total by the divisor to find the average.
Synonyms and how they differ
- factor
- Factor is used for any number that multiplies to make another, and for whole numbers it means the same as divisor in the second sense; it is also common in everyday language.
- denominator
- Denominator is the bottom number of a fraction, which acts like a divisor but is named only in fraction contexts.
Word family
- divide verb
- to split into equal parts or find how many times one number fits into another
- division noun
- the process of dividing numbers
- dividend noun
- the number that is divided
- divisible adjective
- able to be divided exactly
- indivisible adjective
- not able to be divided
Commonly confused: divisor or dividend? divisor or quotient?
divisor vs dividend
The dividend is the number being divided, while the divisor is the number you divide by. In 10 divided by 2, 10 is the dividend and 2 is the divisor.
divisor vs quotient
The quotient is the answer to a division. It is neither the dividend nor the divisor.
Practice
In the calculation 48 ÷ 6 = 8, which number is the divisor?
Choose one answer.
The divisor is the number you divide by, which is 6. The number 48 is the dividend and 8 is the quotient.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “divisor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.