Equals definition | Dictionary.com

e⋅qual

[ee-kwuh

adjective, noun, verb, e⋅qualed, e⋅qual⋅ing or (especially British

) e⋅qualled, e⋅qual⋅ling.

Use Equals in a Sentence

–adjective

1.	as great as; the same as (often fol. by to or with): The velocity of sound is not equal to that of light.

2.	like or alike in quantity, degree, value, etc.; of the same rank, ability, merit, etc.: two students of equal brilliance.

3.	evenly proportioned or balanced: an equal contest.

4.	uniform in operation or effect: equal laws.

5.	adequate or sufficient in quantity or degree: The supply is equal to the demand.

6.	having adequate powers, ability, or means: He was equal to the task.

7.	level, as a plain.

8.	tranquil or undisturbed: to confront death with an equal mind.

9.	impartial or equitable.

–noun

10.	a person or thing that is equal.

–verb (used with object)

11.	to be or become equal to; meet or match: So far the rate of production doesn't equal the demand. If A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C.

12.	to make or do something equal to: No matter how he tries, he can't equal his brother's achievements.

13.	Archaic. to make equal; equalize.

14.	Obsolete. to recompense fully.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME (adj.) < L aequālis equal, like, equiv. to aequ(us) even, plain, just + -ālis -al ¹

Synonyms:
2. proportionate, commensurate, coordinate, correspondent. Equal, equivalent, tantamount imply a correspondence between two or more things. Equal indicates a correspondence in all respects or in a particular respect: A dime is equal to 10 cents (that is, in purchasing power). Equivalent indicates a correspondence in one or more respects, but not in all: An egg is said to be the equivalent of a pound of meat in nutritive value. Tantamount, a word of limited application, is used of immaterial things that are equivalent: The prisoner's refusal to answer was tantamount to an admission of guilt. 4. even, uniform, regular, unvarying, invariant. 6. suited, fitted. 10. peer, compeer, match, mate, fellow.

Antonyms:
2. different. 6. inadequate.

Usage note:
1–9. See unique.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Equals

e·qual (ē'kwəl)

adj.

Having the same quantity, measure, or value as another.
Mathematics Being the same or identical to in value.
1. Having the same privileges, status, or rights: equal before the law.
2. Being the same for all members of a group: gave every player an equal chance to win.
3. Having the requisite qualities, such as strength or ability, for a task or situation: "Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene" (Jane Austen).
4. Adequate in extent, amount, or degree.
1. Having the requisite qualities, such as strength or ability, for a task or situation: "Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene" (Jane Austen).
2. Adequate in extent, amount, or degree.
Impartial; just; equitable.
Tranquil; equable.
Showing or having no variance in proportion, structure, or appearance.

n. One that is equal to another: These two models are equals in computing power.
tr.v. e·qualed or e·qualled, e·qual·ing or e·qual·ling, e·quals

To be equal to, especially in value.
To do, make, or produce something equal to: equaled the world record in the mile run.

[Middle English, from Latin aequālis, from aequus, even, level.]
e'qual·ly adv.

Usage Note: It has been argued that equal is an absolute term—two quantities either are or are not equal—and hence cannot be qualified as to degree. Therefore one cannot logically speak of a more equal allocation of resources among the departments. However, this usage was accepted by 71 percent of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey. Objections to the more equal construction rest on the assumption that the mathematical notion of equality is appropriate to the description of a world where the equality of two quantities is often an approximate matter, and where statements of equality are always relative to an implicit standard of tolerance. When someone says The two boards are of equal length, we assume that the equality is reckoned to some order of approximation determined by the context; if we did not, we would be required always to use nearly equal when speaking of the dimensions of physical objects. What is more, we often speak of the equality of things that cannot be measured quantitatively, as when we say The college draft was introduced in an effort to make the teams in the National Football League as equal as possible, or The candidates for the job should all be given equal consideration. In all such cases equality is naturally a gradient notion and can be modified in degree. This much is evident from the existence of the word unequal, for the prefix un- attaches only to gradient adjectives. We say unmanly but not unmale; and the word uneven can be applied to a surface (whose evenness may be a matter of degree) but not to a number (whose evenness is an either/or affair). · The adverb equally is generally regarded as redundant when used in combination with as. In an earlier survey, 63 percent of the Usage Panel found the following examples unacceptably redundant: Experience is equally as valuable as theory. Equally as important is the desire to learn. To eliminate the redundancy, equally should be deleted from the first example and as from the second. The solution to this usage problem usually involves using as alone when a comparison is explicit and equally alone when it is not. See Usage Notes at absolute, as¹, center, perfect, unique.

equals character
"=", ASCII character 61.
Common names: ITU-T: equals; gets; takes. Rare: quadrathorpe; INTERCAL: half-mesh.
Equals is used in many languages as the assignment operator though earlier languages used ":=" ("becomes equal to") to avoid upsetting mathematicians with statements such as "x = x+1". It is also used in compounds such as "<=", ">=", "==", "/=", "!=" for various comparison operators and in C's "+=", "*=" etc. which mimic the primitive operations of two-address code.
(1995-03-29)

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