# fraction

Pronunciation: US say "FRAK-shuhn" /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/; UK

## Noun

1. A part of a whole, especially when it is comparatively small.
   - Simple: A part of something larger, especially a small part of it.
   - _Only a fraction of the applicants were invited to interview._
   - _A large fraction of the budget went toward emergency repairs._
2. A ratio of two numbers, a numerator and a denominator, usually written one above the other separated by a horizontal bar, or side by side separated by a slash.
   - Simple: A number that shows parts of a whole, like 1/2 or 3/4.
   - _To add two fractions, first give them a common denominator._
   - _The fraction 7/8 lies just short of a whole._
3. A small amount or degree of something.
   - Simple: A very small amount of something.
   - _She hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering._
   - _The new model is only a fraction heavier than the old one._
5. In chemistry, any of the portions into which a mixture is split by fractionation, such as gasoline from crude oil.
   - Simple: A part of a mixture that has been separated out from the rest.
   - _Crude oil is separated into fractions such as gasoline and kerosene._
   - _Each fraction was collected at a different boiling point._
7. In a Eucharistic service, the breaking of the consecrated host.
   - Simple: The breaking of the bread during a Christian communion service.
   - _The liturgy reaches a solemn point at the fraction, when the host is broken._
   - _At the fraction the celebrant divides the host into pieces for distribution._

## Verb

4. To divide or break something into separate parts.
   - Simple: To break or split something into smaller parts.
   - _The engineers fraction the signal into several frequency bands._
   - _Accountants fraction the total cost across many departments._
6. To separate a mixture into distinct components by fractionation.
   - Simple: To separate a mixture into its different parts.
   - _Technicians fraction the plasma to isolate the clotting factors._
   - _The plant fractions natural gas into methane, ethane, and propane._

## Noun

8. An act of breaking apart, especially a violent one, or the broken state that results. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The act of breaking something, or the broken state, especially by force.
   - _The fraction of the ship's hull doomed all aboard._
   - _Witnesses described the violent fraction of the iron chain._

## Origin

From Middle English "fraccioun" ("a breaking"), borrowed via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Medieval Latin "fractio" ("a fragment, portion") and earlier Latin "fractio" ("a breaking into pieces"). This came from "fractus," the past participle of "frangere" ("to break"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-, which also gives English "break."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fraction (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).