DictionaryAI

equal

EE-kwuhl/ˈiːkwəl/

Verbequals

Noun pluralequals

12 meanings of equal

Practice

  1. 1
    same measureadjective
    The same as something else in amount, size, value, degree, or quality.

    The two angles are equal in measure.

    Divide the total sum into equal parts before sharing it out.

    UsageUse to for what it matches (equal to four) and in for the measure (equal in size).

    Note

    Mathematics uses the word without degrees: quantities are equal or they are not, which is why a geometer can say flatly that all right angles are equal. The same exactness carries over to money, as in the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897), where a reluctant skipper is won over by an emolument equal to a set amount.

  2. 2
    same rightsadjective
    Having or deserving the same status, rights, or treatment as another.

    The constitution declares that all people are equal regardless of background.

    They marched for equal access to housing, schools, and jobs.

    UsageCommon phrases: equal under the law, equal rights, equal pay, equal opportunity.

    Oppositeunequal

    Note

    The political and legal sense, at home in phrases such as equal under the law, equal citizens and equal regarding civil rights. It describes standing rather than measurement, so it answers how someone is treated, not how much they weigh. It is sharpest in denial: Law & Inequality argues that women barred from combat are not equal citizens but a separate class with lower status.

    Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The passage appears on page 40 of Lucy V. Katz's article in volume 10, issue 1, bearing 1991 running headers; the institutional repository labels the issue 1992. Neither source supports 1983. scholarship.law.umn.edu
    • The journal passage argues that combat exclusion makes women unequal citizens, a separate class with lower status. lawandinequality.org
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To be exactly the same in value or amount as something, as one side of an equation is to the other; to correspond to.

    One mile equals a little more than one and a half kilometers.

    The interior angles of a triangle always equal one hundred eighty degrees in total.

    UsageTwo plus two equals four (not incorrect: equals to four); or say is equal to.

    Similarmake

  4. 4
    peernouncountable
    A person or thing having the same status, rank, or value as another.

    She finally met someone she considered an intellectual equal.

    After years of working under her, he was finally promoted and treated as her equal.

    UsageOften has no equal or without equal (no article); people treat someone as an equal.

    Similarpeer, match, counterpart, equivalent

    Note

    In the plural it names peers, as in Addison's line in The Spectator about those who were once his equals and now envy and defame him.

  5. 5
    verbcolloquialtransitive
    To amount to or result in; to mean in practice.

    For many families, a lost job equals real hardship.

    Cutting corners now will equal much bigger problems later.

    UsageSuits slogans and speech (hard work equals success); in formal writing amount to or mean is usual.

    Similarmean, spell

  6. 6
    verbtransitive
    To match another in degree or some other quality; to measure up to.

    Few sprinters can equal his record over that distance.

    Her later novels never quite equaled the power of her debut.

    Similarmatch, rival

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of equal apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word comes from Latin 'aequālis', passing into English via Middle English 'equal'. It is a doublet of 'aequalis' and 'egal'.

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts