fractional

/ˈfrækʃənəl/

adjective

  1. Relating to or expressed as a fraction (a number that is not a whole number).

    B2
    • "A fractional part of the company's shares was sold to investors."B2
    • "Three-quarters is a fractional number between zero and one."A2
    • "The decimal 0.25 is the fractional equivalent of one-quarter."C1

  2. Very small in amount or size; not whole or complete.

    B2

    informal

    • "There has been a fractional increase in sales this quarter."B2
    • "He paid only a fractional amount of what he owed."B1
    • "The difference between the two proposals is fractional."C1

adjective

  1. (of a chemical process) relating to the separation of mixtures into their components by distillation, crystallization, or similar methods.

    C2

    attributivetechnical

    • "The mixture was purified by fractional distillation."C2
    • "Fractional crystallization is used to separate salts from a solution."C2

Common mistakes

  • a fractional of→a fraction of

    Use 'a fraction of' (the noun) rather than 'a fractional of'.

Collocations

fractional distillationfractional ownershipfractional reservefractional partfractional share

Word family

fractionfractionallyfractionatefractionation