Meaning & use
opposite numbers
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Meanings
nounpluralBritishformal
People who hold equivalent positions in two different groups, organizations or countries, and so deal with each other.
Grammar: Plural of opposite number, which is singular and takes a possessive: her opposite number in Paris.
Patterns
- someone's opposite number
- meet their opposite numbers
The foreign minister met her opposite numbers from three neighboring countries.
The two team captains and their opposite numbers shook hands before the match.
Our sales manager flew out to speak with his opposite numbers in Tokyo.
nounpluralmathematics
Two numbers that are the same distance from zero but on different sides, so that adding them gives zero.
Grammar: Always a pair: 5 and -5 are opposite numbers.
Patterns
- the opposite of a number
Seven and negative seven are opposite numbers because they add up to zero.
Students find opposite numbers on a number line by reflecting across zero.
The opposite numbers of a set of values all change sign.
Word forms
| singular | opposite number |
|---|
Common combinations
- meet their opposite numbers
- The delegates met their opposite numbers over dinner.
- his opposite number
- The head chef called his opposite number at the rival hotel.
- opposite numbers on a number line
- Opposite numbers on a number line sit equally far from zero.
- find the opposite number
- Find the opposite number of 12 by changing its sign.
Synonyms and how they differ
- counterparts
- Counterparts is a more general and common word, and unlike opposite numbers it does not suggest they face each other across a table.
- equivalents
- Equivalents can refer to things as well as people, while opposite numbers are almost always people.
- additive inverses
- Additive inverses is the precise algebra term for opposite numbers in math, and sounds more technical.
Word family
- opposite adjective
- completely different or facing the other way
- opposite number noun
- singular form of the phrase
- opposition noun
- the act of resisting or the group that resists
- oppose verb
- to act against something
Commonly confused: opposite numbers or reciprocals?
opposite numbers vs reciprocals
Reciprocals multiply to give one, like 2 and 1/2, while opposite numbers add to give zero.
Practice
In math, 9 and -9 are ___ because their sum is zero.
Choose one answer.
Opposite numbers are the same distance from zero with different signs, so they add to zero. Reciprocals multiply to one, so that tempting option is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “opposite numbers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.