Math and English Glossary for Kids

Simple, kid-friendly meanings of 72 words children meet at school, each with an example and a free game to practice it.

🔢 Math words · 📚 English words

🔢 Math words

Addition

Putting numbers together to find the total. Example: 4 + 3 = 7 Practice →

Subtraction

Taking one number away from another to find what is left, or finding the difference between two numbers. Example: 9 − 4 = 5 Practice →

Multiplication

Adding equal groups quickly. 3 × 4 means 3 groups of 4. Example: 3 × 4 = 12 Practice →

Division

Sharing into equal groups, or finding how many groups fit. Example: 12 ÷ 3 = 4 Practice →

Times table

The list of answers when you multiply a number by 1, 2, 3 and so on up to 12. Example: The 5 times table: 5, 10, 15, 20… Practice →

Product

The answer when you multiply numbers. Example: The product of 6 and 4 is 24. Practice →

Sum

The answer when you add numbers. Example: The sum of 8 and 5 is 13. Practice →

Difference

How much bigger one number is than another; the answer to a subtraction. Example: The difference between 10 and 7 is 3. Practice →

Quotient

The answer when you divide. Example: In 20 ÷ 4 = 5, the quotient is 5. Practice →

Remainder

What is left over when a number cannot be shared equally. Example: 13 ÷ 4 = 3 remainder 1 Practice →

Number bond

A pair of numbers that add up to a total, such as 10. Example: 3 + 7 = 10 Practice →

Place value

The value of a digit depends on its place in the number. Example: In 352, the 5 is worth 50. Practice →

Digit

One of the symbols 0 to 9 used to write numbers. Example: 472 has three digits. Practice →

Rounding

Changing a number to a nearby, simpler number, such as the nearest 10. Example: 47 rounds to 50. Practice →

Fraction

A number that shows part of a whole or part of a group. Example: 1/4 of a pizza Practice →

Numerator

The top number in a fraction. It shows how many parts you have. Example: In 3/4, the numerator is 3. Practice →

Denominator

The bottom number in a fraction. It shows how many equal parts the whole is split into. Example: In 3/4, the denominator is 4. Practice →

Equivalent fractions

Different fractions that show the same amount. Example: 1/2 = 2/4 = 4/8 Practice →

Decimal

A number with a decimal point, used for parts of a whole. Example: 0.5 is the same as one half. Practice →

Percentage

A number out of 100, shown with the % sign. Example: 50% means 50 out of 100, or half. Practice →

Factor

A number that divides into another number exactly. Example: The factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6. Practice →

Multiple

The answer you get when you multiply a number by a whole number. Example: Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16… Practice →

Prime number

A whole number greater than 1 with exactly two factors: 1 and itself. Example: 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11 are prime. Practice →

Square number

The answer when you multiply a number by itself. Example: 4 × 4 = 16, so 16 is a square number. Practice →

Even number

A whole number that can be shared into two equal groups. It ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. Example: 14 is even. Practice →

Odd number

A whole number that cannot be shared into two equal groups. It ends in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. Example: 15 is odd. Practice →

Pattern

Something that repeats or changes by a rule. Example: 2, 4, 6, 8 goes up by 2. Practice →

Negative number

A number less than zero, written with a minus sign. Example: −3 is three less than zero. Practice →

Number line

A straight line with numbers placed in order at equal spaces. Example: A number line from 0 to 10 Practice →

Perimeter

The total distance around the outside of a shape. Example: A 3 cm by 2 cm rectangle has a perimeter of 10 cm. Practice →

Area

The amount of space inside a flat shape, measured in squares. Example: A 3 cm by 2 cm rectangle has an area of 6 cm². Practice →

Angle

The amount of turn between two lines that meet at a point, measured in degrees. Example: A right angle is 90°. Practice →

Right angle

A square corner, exactly 90 degrees. Example: The corner of a book is a right angle. Practice →

Acute angle

An angle smaller than a right angle (less than 90°). Example: 45° is acute. Practice →

Obtuse angle

An angle bigger than a right angle but smaller than a straight line (between 90° and 180°). Example: 120° is obtuse. Practice →

Polygon

A flat shape with straight sides that are joined up. Example: Triangles, squares and hexagons are polygons. Practice →

Vertex

A corner where sides or edges meet. The plural is vertices. Example: A triangle has 3 vertices. Practice →

Symmetry

When one half of a shape is a mirror image of the other half. Example: A butterfly has a line of symmetry. Practice →

Pictograph

A graph that uses pictures to show data. Example: Each apple picture = 2 children. Practice →

Bar graph

A graph that uses bars of different heights to show and compare data. Example: A bar graph of favorite fruits Practice →

Tally

A quick way to count using marks, crossing every fifth mark. Example: Four marks with one line across them means 5. Practice →

Analog clock

A clock with hands that point to numbers around a circle. Example: The long hand on 12 means o’clock. Practice →

Quarter past

Fifteen minutes after the hour. Example: Quarter past 3 is 3:15. Practice →

📚 English words

Noun

A word for a person, place, animal or thing. Example: dog, school, Mia Practice →

Proper noun

The name of a particular person, place or thing. It starts with a capital letter. Example: Sydney, Monday, Sam Practice →

Verb

A doing or being word. Example: run, jump, is Practice →

Adjective

A word that describes a noun. Example: a fluffy cat Practice →

Adverb

A word that tells how, when or where something happens. Many end in -ly. Example: She ran quickly. Practice →

Pronoun

A word used instead of a noun. Example: he, she, it, they Practice →

Conjunction

A joining word that links words or parts of a sentence. Example: and, but, because Practice →

Synonym

A word that means the same, or nearly the same, as another word. Example: big and large Practice →

Antonym

A word that means the opposite of another word. Example: hot and cold Practice →

Homophone

Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Example: there, their and they’re Practice →

Rhyme

Words that end with the same sound. Example: cat, hat, mat Practice →

Syllable

A beat in a word. Each syllable has one vowel sound. Example: but-ter-fly has 3 syllables. Practice →

Vowel

The letters a, e, i, o and u (and sometimes y). Example: The vowels in "rain" are a and i. Practice →

Consonant

Any letter that is not a vowel. Example: b, c, d, f, g… Practice →

Phonics

Learning the sounds that letters make and blending them to read words. Example: c-a-t makes cat. Practice →

Digraph

Two letters that make one sound. Example: sh, ch, th, ck Practice →

Blending

Saying the sounds in a word one after another and joining them to read the word. Example: sh-i-p → ship Practice →

Sight word

A common word children learn to recognize instantly, often because it is hard to sound out. Example: the, said, was Practice →

Prefix

Letters added to the start of a word to change its meaning. Example: un + happy = unhappy Practice →

Suffix

Letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or use. Example: care + ful = careful Practice →

Root word

The main part of a word, before any prefix or suffix is added. Example: play in replaying Practice →

Compound word

Two words joined to make a new word. Example: sun + flower = sunflower Practice →

Apostrophe

A punctuation mark (’) that shows missing letters or that something belongs to someone. Example: don’t; the dog’s bone Practice →

Comma

A punctuation mark (,) used to separate items in a list or parts of a sentence. Example: apples, pears and plums Practice →

Period

A punctuation mark (.) that ends a statement. In British English it is called a full stop. Example: The cat sat down. Practice →

Question mark

A punctuation mark (?) that ends a question. Example: Where are you going? Practice →

Inference

Working out something the text does not say directly, using clues. Example: Her umbrella was dripping, so it was raining. Practice →

Comprehension

Understanding what you read. Example: Answering questions about a story Practice →

Analogy

A comparison showing how two pairs of words are related in the same way. Example: Bird is to nest as bee is to hive. Practice →