quotient

/ˈkwoʊʃənt/

/ˈkwʌʊʃənt/

Other forms: quotients

When you add two numbers the answer is called the sum. When you divide two numbers the answer is called the quotient. The quotient of six divided by two is three.

Quotient comes from Latin and means "how many times." That makes a lot of sense: if you divide one number by a second, you are figuring out "how many times" the second number goes into the first. Outside of math, use of the word is restricted: the IQ test is short for "Intelligence Quotient," and very rarely you might hear someone ask, "What's my quotient of cupcakes?" when they mean "What is my share?"

Definitions of quotient

1. noun

   the number obtained by division
   type of:

   number

   a concept of quantity involving zero and units
2. noun

   the ratio of two quantities to be divided
   types:

   proportion

   the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole

   case-fatality proportion

   the number of cases of a disease ending in death divided by the number of cases of the disease; usually expressed as a percentage or as the number of deaths per 1000 cases

   case-to-infection proportion, case-to-infection ratio

   the number of cases of a disease divided by the number of infections with the agent that causes the disease

   content

   the proportion of a substance that is contained in a mixture or alloy etc.

   rate

   a quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure

   scale

   the ratio between the size of something and a representation of it

   golden mean, golden section

   the proportional relation between two divisions of line or two dimension of a plane figure such that short : long :: long : (short + long)

   pct, per centum, percent, percentage

   a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred)

   batting average

   (an extension of the baseball term) the proportion of times some effort succeeds

   type of:

   ratio

   the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient)