floating-point

float·ing-point (fltng-point)

adj.

Of, relating to, or being a method of writing numeric quantities with a mantissa representing the value of the digits and a characteristic indicating the power of the number base, such as 3 × 10^-5.

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floating-point  (fltng-point)

Relating to a method of representing numerical quantities that uses two sets of integers, a mantissa and a characteristic, in which the value of the number is understood to be equal to the mantissa multiplied by a base (often 10) raised to the power of the characteristic. Scientific notation is one means of displaying floating-point numbers.