Meaning & use
repeating decimal
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Meaning
nouncountable
A decimal in which a digit or group of digits repeats forever in a fixed pattern.
Grammar: Countable: one repeating decimal, two repeating decimals.
Patterns
- a repeating decimal
- write something as a repeating decimal
0.333... is a repeating decimal because the 3 goes on forever.
The fraction 1/7 becomes a repeating decimal with a cycle of six digits.
Students learn to convert repeating decimals into fractions.
Word forms
| plural | repeating decimals |
|---|
Common combinations
- repeating decimal expansion
- The repeating decimal expansion of 1/3 is 0.333...
- terminating or repeating decimal
- Every rational number has either a terminating or repeating decimal form.
- convert a repeating decimal
- You can convert a repeating decimal to a fraction using algebra.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recurring decimal
- Recurring decimal is the British term for the same thing; repeating decimal is more common in American English.
Opposites
Word family
- repeat verb
- To happen or appear again.
- repetition noun
- The act of happening or appearing again.
Commonly confused: repeating decimal or terminating decimal?
repeating decimal vs terminating decimal
A terminating decimal stops after a few digits (like 0.25), while a repeating decimal goes on forever in a pattern.
Practice
Which of these is a repeating decimal?
Choose one answer.
0.333... is a repeating decimal because the digit 3 repeats infinitely. The others are terminating decimals that stop after one or two digits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “repeating decimal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.