Definition of "decimal" []

• A linear array of digits that represents a real number, every decimal place indicating a multiple of a negative power of 10. For example, the decimal 0.1 = 1/10 , 0.12 = 12/100 , 0.003 = 3/1000 . Also called decimal fraction. (noun)
• A number written using the base 10. (noun)
• Expressed or expressible as a decimal. (adjective)
• Based on 10. (adjective)
• Numbered or ordered by groups of 10. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Five hundred men were caught shirking their duty; one out of every ten was selected for execution, which is why the procedure was called decimation analogous to our word decimal, that is, one-tenth."
• "The doubling of the severity for each decimal is simply a rule of thumb, it is accurate enough for a layman I think."
• "The sum of a terminating decimal and a repeating decimal is a repeating decimal, so we are done."