floating-point
adjective
float·ing-point
ˈflō-tiŋ-ˌpȯint
variants
or floating point
mathematics
: using or involving a notation in which a number is represented as a number with an absolute value between 1 and the base (see base entry 1 sense 4e(2)) multiplied by a power of the number base indicated by an exponent (as in 4.52E2 for 452 in base 10)
A floating point operation requires at least several thousand elementary binary operations.—Geoffrey Murray
If a simple operation like multiplying floating-point numbers would require a set of instructions, then a procedure of any useful scale would involve putting many such sets of instructions together.—Andrew Hodges
compare fixed-point, scientific notation
Cite this Entry
“Floating-point.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/floating-point. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.
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