Meaning & use
significant figure
A digit in a number that contributes to its precision, including all nonzero digits and certain zeros.
See it in a sentence
Rounding 3.146 to three significant figures gives 3.15, since the fourth digit is dropped.
Scientists report measurements with significant figures to show how precise their instruments really are.
A note on using this word
Leading zeros never count as significant, but zeros between or after other digits often do, depending on the decimal point.
Words with a similar meaning
sig fig
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