Vocabulary - Words with Multiple Meanings (Math)

The English language can be tricky because so many words have more than one meaning. This blog post is going to focus on some math terms that you know (and love) that have multiple meanings. Let's examine a few.

Fraction:
In math, a fraction would be represented by values like 1/2, 1/4, or 5/8.
In general terms, a fraction means just a portion of something.
Example sentence: Sally completed just a fraction of her work for the day.

Area:
In math, area is the amount of flat space that a figure covers. Depending on the figure, there are different formulas to use to calculate that specific value.
In general terms, area means a certain section of land or space.
Example sentence: This particular area of North Carolina is beautiful.

Volume:
In math, volume is the amount of 3-dimensional space that something takes up, such as a box or a basketball.
In general terms, it could mean the amount of sound.
Example sentence: The volume of his radio is too loud for me.

Can you think of more math words that have dual meanings? Take a look at the list found at http://www.mathwords.com/a_to_z.htm. Be sure to scroll down since there are a ton of words to see! Find a word that has a particular meaning in math, but then a different meaning when it's used outside of a math context. Post your word, the math definition, and then try to give your best definition of what the word means outside of math. Lastly, use that word's non-math version in a sentence (similar to what I showed you above).