Digit
'dɪdʒɪt
Definitions
2 meaningsAny of the numerals from 0 to 9, especially when forming part of a larger number.
'dɪdʒɪt
A single number, 0-9, used to represent quantities.
The sum of the digits in the number 456 is 15.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're counting on your fingers. Each finger represents a 'digit', like a number. So, in the number 35, both 3 and 5 are digits!
👶 For kids: A digit is just one number, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9!
More Examples
Please enter a five-digit PIN to access your account.
The phone number has ten digits.
How It's Used
"The number 123 has three digits."
"A binary digit, or bit, is a 0 or 1."
A finger or toe.
'dɪdʒɪt
The doctor examined the patient's injured digit.
💡 Simply: Your fingers and toes? Those are also called digits!
👶 For kids: Your fingers and toes are called digits too!
More Examples
The athlete suffered a fractured digit during the game.
She had to have surgery to fix the broken digit.
How It's Used
"Each hand has five digits."
From Latin *digitus*, meaning 'finger' or 'toe'. The word's meaning evolved to include numerical digits.
Used in medieval arithmetic and accounting to denote numerical values.
Memory tip
Think of your ten fingers as digits, and the numbers 0-9 use those fingers to count.