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rounding error

noun

Definitions

  1. The difference between the result of a calculation using exact arithmetic and…

    The difference between the result of a calculation using exact arithmetic and finite-precision, rounded arithmetic.

    • The rocket's malfunction was down to a rounding error in the mathematics of its trajectory guidance.

  2. A negligible fraction of something.

    • 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 neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for rounding error. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA