Have you ever wondered what some everyday math vocabulary words are? If you are learning English, it might help you to know some of these common math words and their definitions.
Everyday Math Vocabulary Words
Since math can cover measurement, geometry, algebra, and other things, there are a lot of everyday math vocabulary words. The first group will be concerned with measuring time, distance, and money.
- calendar: used to measure time, shows months, weeks, and days
- centimeter: very small measurement of length, 100 centimeters are in 1 meter
- clock: a device that measures time showing the hours, minutes and sometimes seconds, can be circular or digital
- day: length of time for the earth to rotate one time; 24 hours
- dime: unit of money, 10 dimes equal one dollar
- dollar: unit of money, is made of paper, comes in $1, $5, $10, $20, and $100 denominations
- foot: measurement of length, three feet are in one yard
- hour: measurement of time, there are 24 hours in a day
- inch: small measurement of length, 12 inches are in one foot, 36 are in one yard
- minute: measurement of time, there are 60 minutes in an hour
- nickel: unit of money, 20 nickels in one dollar
- penny: unit of money, 100 pennies in one dollar
- quarter: unit of money, 4 quarters in one dollar
- ruler: used to measure length with inches or centimeters
- second: small measurement of time, there are 60 seconds in a minute
- yard: measurement of length, less then a meter, has 3 feet or 36 inches
Geometry Words
The next group of everyday math vocabulary words refer to geometry. They include two- dimensional and three-dimensional objects.
- altitude: height about the earth or height of a triangle
- angle: the point at which two lines meet
- area: size of a surface expressed in square units
- circle: a perfectly round shape
- cone: a three dimensional shape with a point at one end and a circle at the other, examples: traffic cone, ice cream cone
- cube: a three dimensional object with 6 square sides
- diamond: a four-sided shape with no right angles, like a baseball diamond
- line: number of points in a row, like people waiting in line
- parallel: two lines that are the same distance from each other at all points, lines that will never meet, like railroad tracks.
- rectangle: a shape with four sides and four right angles.
- right angle: an angle that measures 90 degrees, perpendicular
- square: a shape with four sides that are the same length and four right angles, a special kind of rectangle
- triangle: a shape with three sides
Everyday Mathematical Calculations
We use math everyday, in making change, making a business presentation, checking the weather, calculating the tip, or figuring miles per gallon for our car. Here are some of the more common math words.
- add: putting two things together, example 3+6=9
- average: get the total of all parts and divide by the number of parts, example: the average of 31, 45, and 23 is 31+45+23=99, 99 divided by 3= 33.
- calculator: a device which performs mathematical calculations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and percentage.
- decimal: a point separating whole numbers and fractions of numbers, separates dollars from cents in measuring money
- degree: a measure of a degree or an angle
- divide: separating a number into smaller units, example 9 divided by 3 equals 3
- Fahrenheit: a measurement of temperature, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees.
- fraction: an expression of dividing one number into another, example ½
- graph: represents data, some kinds are bar graph and pie chart
- multiply: repeated addition, example: 5x3 = 15 or 5+5+5
- percent: a fraction of something expressed as a part of 100 units, for example: 10 percent is one tenth of something, or 10 parts out of 100 parts
- subtract: take away something from another, example 5-2=3