Meaning & use
fraction
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Meanings
nouncountablemathematics
A number shown as one whole number over another, such as three over four, representing parts of a whole.
Grammar: Countable in mathematics: add two fractions.
Patterns
- a fraction of something
Three-quarters is a fraction with a numerator of three.
The students learned to add fractions with different denominators.
One half is the simplest fraction most children meet.
nouncountable
A small part or amount of something.
Grammar: Usually with a: a fraction of the cost.
Patterns
- a fraction of something
- only a fraction
Only a fraction of the students came to the meeting.
The repairs cost a fraction of what we expected.
She earned a fraction of her old salary.
nounsingular
A very small distance, time, or degree.
Grammar: Used as a tiny measure: a fraction of a second.
Patterns
- a fraction of a second
- by a fraction
He hesitated for a fraction of a second.
The car missed the post by a fraction of an inch.
She moved the chair a fraction to the left.
nouncountablechemistrytechnical
One of the parts a mixture separates into, such as in distilling oil.
Grammar: Technical, in chemistry.
Patterns
- the something fraction
The lightest fraction of the crude oil becomes gasoline.
Scientists separated the blood into different fractions.
The heavy fraction sank to the bottom.
Word forms
| plural | fractions |
|---|
Common combinations
- a fraction of a second
- The goalie reacted in a fraction of a second.
- a fraction of the cost
- We built it for a fraction of the cost.
- improper fraction
- Seven over four is an improper fraction.
- decimal fraction
- Write one half as a decimal fraction: 0.5.
- tiny fraction
- A tiny fraction of the water reaches the farm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- portion
- Portion means a part given or taken, while fraction stresses how small the part is relative to the whole.
- bit
- Bit is casual and vague, but fraction can imply a measured part.
- percentage
- Percentage expresses a part out of one hundred, while fraction need not.
- sliver
- Sliver suggests a thin physical piece, whereas fraction is abstract.
Opposites
Word family
- fractional adjective
- relating to or amounting to a fraction
- fractionally adverb
- by a very small amount
- fractionate verb
- to separate into parts
- fracture noun
- a break, from the same Latin root
Commonly confused: fraction or fracture? fraction or friction?
fraction vs fracture
A fracture is a break, especially in a bone. A fraction is a part of a whole.
fraction vs friction
Friction is the resistance when surfaces rub together, and it differs in spelling and sense.
Practice
The new phone costs only a ____ of what the old model cost when it was released.
Choose one answer.
A fraction of the cost means a small part of it. Fracture and friction are spelling look-alikes with different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fraction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.