rounding error
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The difference between the result of a calculation using exact arithmetic and finite-precision, rounded arithmetic.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The rocket's malfunction was down to a rounding error in the mathematics of its trajectory guidance."
- "In an email, a computer program named Statcheck informed him that a 2013 paper he had published on multiculturalism and prejudice appeared to contain a number of incorrect calculations – which the program had catalogued and then posted on the internet for anyone to see. The problems turned out to be minor – just a few rounding errors – but the experience left Kauff feeling rattled."
- "In the budget of the rocket forces, the 200 thousand dollars for the investigation was a mere rounding error."
- "Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, recently called Chrome's market share “a rounding error, to date” in an interview with TechCrunch."
- "As Carl Emmerson, deputy head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “The size of the UK’s public finances means you can give away £1bn a year and it’s not much more than a rounding error.”"
- "The sum of money involved is small and, compared to the trillions of dollars traded each year, almost a rounding error."