Free printable math vocabulary chart
Grades K–8The words that turn up in questions without ever being explained — quotient, denominator, vertex, median. Each one with a plain meaning and an example. Print it for the wall, or search the list below when something unfamiliar appears in homework.
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Search any math word
Type a word, part of a meaning, or an example. Searching middle finds median, searching left over finds remainder, and searching corner finds vertex.
Filter by topic when a whole set is new. Fraction words arrive together, and so do the data words, so it helps to see them as a group rather than hunting one at a time.
The examples matter more than the definitions here. A child who reads that a quotient is the answer to a division has learned a sentence; a child who sees the quotient of 42 and 6 is 7 can recognize one next time.
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Digit | One of the ten symbols 0 to 9 that numbers are written with | 47 has two digits |
| Place value | What a digit is worth because of where it sits | The 4 in 47 is worth 40 |
| Even | A number that pairs up with nothing left over | 8 is even |
| Odd | A number that leaves one over when paired up | 9 is odd |
| Prime | A number with exactly two factors | 7 is prime |
| Composite | A number with more than two factors | 12 is composite |
| Factor | A number that divides into another exactly | 3 is a factor of 12 |
| Multiple | The result of multiplying by a whole number | 12 is a multiple of 3 |
| Integer | A whole number, positive, negative or zero | −5, 0 and 7 are integers |
| Round | Replace a number with a nearby easier one | 47 rounds to 50 |
| Estimate | A sensible rough answer | About 800 |
| Sequence | Numbers in order following a rule | 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| Sum | The answer to an addition | The sum of 3 and 4 is 7 |
| Addend | A number being added | In 3 + 4, both are addends |
| Difference | The answer to a subtraction | The difference between 9 and 4 is 5 |
| Product | The answer to a multiplication | The product of 6 and 7 is 42 |
| Quotient | The answer to a division | The quotient of 42 and 6 is 7 |
| Dividend | The number being divided | In 42 ÷ 6, the dividend is 42 |
| Divisor | The number you divide by | In 42 ÷ 6, the divisor is 6 |
| Remainder | What is left over after dividing | 17 ÷ 5 = 3 remainder 2 |
| Regroup | Exchange ten of one place for one of the next | Carrying in addition |
| Inverse operation | The operation that undoes another | Subtraction undoes addition |
| Commutative | Order does not change the answer | 3 + 4 = 4 + 3 |
| Associative | Grouping does not change the answer | (2+3)+4 = 2+(3+4) |
| Order of operations | The agreed order for working a calculation | Brackets before multiplying |
| Numerator | The top number of a fraction | In 3/4 it is 3 |
| Denominator | The bottom number, how many equal parts | In 3/4 it is 4 |
| Equivalent | Different names for the same amount | 1/2 = 2/4 |
| Simplify | Write a fraction in its lowest terms | 8/12 becomes 2/3 |
| Improper fraction | A fraction worth one whole or more | 7/4 |
| Mixed number | A whole number and a fraction together | 1 3/4 |
| Decimal point | The dot separating whole from part | 3.45 |
| Percent | Out of one hundred | 45% is 45 out of 100 |
| Ratio | A comparison of two amounts | 3 : 4 |
| Vertex | A corner where edges or sides meet | A cube has 8 |
| Edge | Where two faces of a solid meet | A cube has 12 |
| Face | A flat surface of a solid | A cube has 6 |
| Angle | The amount of turn between two arms | A right angle is 90° |
| Parallel | Always the same distance apart, never meeting | Railway tracks |
| Perpendicular | Meeting at a right angle | A window corner |
| Polygon | A closed flat shape with straight sides | A hexagon |
| Congruent | Same shape and same size | Two identical tiles |
| Similar | Same shape, different size | A photo and its enlargement |
| Symmetry | A fold that matches both halves | A square has 4 lines |
| Perimeter | The distance all the way around | 2 × (l + w) |
| Area | The space inside a flat shape | Measured in square units |
| Volume | The space inside a solid | Measured in cubic units |
| Unit | The thing you are counting in | Centimeters, grams, liters |
| Capacity | How much a container holds | A 2 liter bottle |
| Mass | How much matter something contains | Measured in grams |
| Elapsed time | How long something took | 3:40 to 4:15 is 35 minutes |
| Data | Information that has been collected | Favorite fruit votes |
| Tally | Marks used to count as you go, in fives | Four lines and a diagonal |
| Mean | The total shared equally between them | The average |
| Median | The middle value once they are in order | Of 3, 5, 9 it is 5 |
| Mode | The value that appears most often | Of 2, 3, 3, 7 it is 3 |
| Range | The biggest value minus the smallest | Of 2 to 9 it is 7 |
| Outcome | One possible result | Heads is one outcome |
58 words shown. Search the word, its meaning, or the example.
How to use this vocabulary chart at home
Treat it as a dictionary, not a list to learn. Nobody memorizes sixty definitions, and nobody should. Its job is to be within reach when a homework question says find the product and the room goes quiet.
Use the proper word alongside the everyday one for a while. Say what is the difference, in other words how many more. After a few weeks the scaffolding can come away and the mathematical word stands on its own.
Ask them to explain a word back to you in their own sentence. Reciting a definition proves very little; rephrasing it proves the idea landed.
Vocabulary is where marks quietly disappear
A child can be fluent at division and still score nothing on a question asking for a quotient. The arithmetic was never the obstacle — the sentence was.
This is unusually cheap to fix compared with everything else in math. There is no conceptual difficulty in knowing that product means the answer to a multiplication; it just has to be met often enough to stick.
It also compounds. Later topics assume the earlier words, so a child shaky on factor and multiple in Grade 4 will find highest common factor in Grade 6 harder than it needs to be.
The words that mean something else outside math
Several of these have a completely different everyday meaning, and children reasonably bring the wrong one. Odd normally means strange; here it means one left over. Difference normally means how things are unalike; here it is the answer to a subtraction.
Similar in ordinary speech means roughly alike. In geometry it is precise: same shape, different size. Two shapes that look a bit alike are not similar unless one is an exact enlargement of the other.
Mean is the worst offender, being an ordinary adjective, an ordinary verb and a mathematical noun. Pointing out the collision explicitly helps far more than hoping it goes unnoticed.
Where vocabulary usually goes wrong
Mixing up product and sum. Both are answers to something; only one involves multiplying.
Reversing numerator and denominator. The denominator is down at the bottom, which is a hook worth using.
Confusing factors with multiples. Factors fit inside a number, multiples run away from it.
Assuming average always means mean. It usually does at this level, but median and mode are averages too, and questions sometimes say so.
After the chart goes up
A chart explains the idea but gives a child nothing to do. These do the rest.
- number sense at Mathify Kids — every topic in this area, sorted by grade.
- order of operations worksheets — printable practice.
- comparing numbers worksheets — the next step once this is solid.
- mean median mode range worksheets — more practice in the same area.
Everything at this level: Kindergarten math · Grade 1 math · Grade 2 math · Grade 3 math · Grade 4 math · Grade 5 math · Grade 6 math · Grade 7 math · Grade 8 math
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Questions parents ask
What is the difference between sum, difference, product and quotient?
They are the answers to the four operations. A sum comes from adding, a difference from subtracting, a product from multiplying and a quotient from dividing. Test questions use these words constantly without explaining them, which is why a child can know how to divide and still be stuck on find the quotient.
What does numerator and denominator mean?
The denominator is the bottom number and says how many equal parts the whole was cut into. The numerator is the top and says how many of those parts you have. Reading a fraction bottom first matches how it is actually drawn.
What is a vertex?
A corner — the point where two sides or several edges meet. A cube has eight vertices, a triangle has three. The plural is vertices, which trips up plenty of adults too.
What is the difference between mean, median and mode?
The mean is the total shared out equally, which most people call the average. The median is the middle value once they are in order. The mode is the one that appears most often. All three describe a typical value, and which is most useful depends on the data.
Why does math vocabulary matter so much?
Because a child who cannot decode the question cannot show what they know. A great many marks are lost to vocabulary rather than to arithmetic, and this is the cheapest gap to close — the words just need meeting often enough.
What grade is this math vocabulary chart for?
Kindergarten through Grade 8. The early number and operation words come first, fractions and geometry terms build through the middle grades, and data vocabulary arrives around Grades 5 to 8.
Is this math vocabulary chart free to print?
Yes. Open it full size and print as many copies as you need for home or a classroom, with no account and no watermark. Reselling it or re-hosting the file elsewhere is not allowed — link to this page instead.