Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Denominator \De*nom"i*na`tor\, n. [Cf. F. d['e]nominateur.]
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One who, or that which, gives a name; origin or source of a name.
This opinion that Aram . . . was the father and denomination of the Syrians in general.
--Sir W. Raleigh. -
(Arith.) That number placed below the line in common fractions which shows into how many parts the integer or unit is divided.
Note: Thus, in 3/5, 5 is the denominator, showing that the integer is divided into five parts; and the numerator, 3, shows how many parts are taken.
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(Alg.) That part of any expression under a fractional form which is situated below the horizontal line signifying division.
Note: In this sense, the denominator is not necessarily a number, but may be any expression, either positive or negative, real or imaginary.
--Davies & Peck (Math. Dict.)common denominator a number which can divide either of two or more other numbers without leaving a remainder in any of the divisions; as, 2 and 4 are common denominators of 12 and 28..
greatest common denominator the largest common denominator of two or more numbers; as, 9 is the greatest common denominator of 18 and 27..
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context mathematics English) Any integer that is a common multiple of the denominators of two or more fractions 2 (context by extension English) A trait or attribute that is shared by all members of some category
WordNet
n. an integer that is a common multiple of the denominators of two or more fractions
an attribute that is common to all members of a category
Usage examples of "common denominator".
Foresight is a possible common denominator of wrongs at the two extremes of malice and negligence.
And we do not honor the richness of these feelingsin us, in othersby reducing or narrowing them to the lowest common denominator.
It is the simple mechanical truth that Mother is a common denominator to all the child's prenatals.
She saw the faces streaming past her, the faces made alike by fear--fear as a common denominator, fear of themselves, fear of all and of one another, fear making them ready to pounce upon whatever was held sacred by any single one they met.
Because it had been necessary to retreat to the crew's common denominator, certainly.
The programming is shallowed to the lowest (and widest) common denominator.
Most of our teachers would say: We have devoted several centuries to inventing and elaborating the Glass Bead Game as a universal language and method for expressing all intellectual concepts and all artistic values and reducing them to a common denominator.
I tried the reverse, the least common denominator, end I continued to go back to Cecile Tyler's record.
Just like the civilized worlds, only reduced to the lowest common denominator.
The common denominator of these customs, of course, is that the slave must understand that force, either explicitly or implicitly, is involved, and that she will enter the stronghold of the master, and as a slave, whether she wills to do so or not.