Algebra Symbols

Algebra Symbols

Algebra Symbols With Names

Let’s explore the names of common algebra symbols used in both basic algebra and more advanced levels.

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning/definition	Example
≡	equivalence	identical to
x	x variable	unknown value to find	when 2x = 4, then x = 2
:=	equal by definition	equal by definition
≜	equal by definition	equal by definition
≈	approximately equal	approximation	sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01
~	approximately equal	weak approximation	11 ~ 10
∞	lemniscate	infinity symbol
∝	proportional to	proportional to	y ∝ x when y = kx, k constant
≫	much greater than	much greater than	1000000 ≫ 1
≪	much less than	much less than	1 ≪ 1000000
[ ]	brackets	calculate expression inside first	[(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18
( )	parentheses	calculate expression inside first	2 * (3+5) = 16
⌊x⌋	floor brackets	rounds number to lower integer	⌊4.3⌋= 4
{ }	braces	set
			5