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Definition of fraction noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fraction

noun
 
/ˈfrækʃn/
 
/ˈfrækʃn/
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  1. a small part or amount of something
    • Only a small fraction of a bank's total deposits will be withdrawn at any one time.
    • She hesitated for the merest fraction of a second.
    • He raised his voice a fraction.
    If fraction is used with a plural noun, the verb is usually plural: Only a fraction of cars in the UK use leaded petrol. If it is used with a singular noun that represents a group of people, the verb can be singular or plural in British English, but is usually singular in North American English: A tiny fraction of the population never vote/votes.
    Extra Examples
    • A mere fraction of available wind energy is currently utilized.
    • The average income is high, though many people earn just a fraction of that average.
    • Why not grow your own fruit at a fraction of the price?
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • large
    • significant
    • sizeable
    preposition
    • fraction of
    phrases
    • just a fraction
    • only a fraction
    See full entry
  2. a division of a number, for example ⅝
    • How do you express 25% as a fraction?
    synonym rational number
    Language Bank proportionproportionDescribing fractions and proportions
      • According to this pie chart, a third of students’ leisure time is spent watching TV.
      • One in five hours is/​are spent socializing.
      • Socializing accounts for/makes up/comprises about 20 per cent of leisure time.
      • Students spend twice as much time playing computer games as doing sport.
      • Three times as many hours are spent playing computer games as reading.
      • The figure for playing computer games is three times higher than the figure for reading.
      • The largest proportion of time is spent playing computer games.
    compare integer see also common fraction, proper fraction, vulgar fractionTopics Maths and measurementb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • vulgar
    • decimal
    • improper
    verb + fraction
    • express something as
    See full entry
  3. (chemistry) a quantity of liquid that has been collected as a result of a process that separates the parts of a liquid mixture
    • The third fraction contains alcohols with boiling points of 120–130℃.
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin fractio(n-) ‘breaking (bread)’, from Latin frangere ‘to break’.
See fraction in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fraction in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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