rounding error

English

Noun

rounding error (countable and uncountable, plural rounding errors)

  1. (mathematics) The difference between the result of a calculation using exact arithmetic and finite-precision, rounded arithmetic.
    Synonym: roundoff error
    The rocket's malfunction was down to a rounding error in the mathematics of its trajectory guidance.
    • 2017 February 1, Stephen Buranyi, “The high-tech war on science fraud”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 October 2026:
      In an email, a computer program named Statcheck informed him that a 2013 paper he had published on multiculturalism and prejudice appeared to contain a number of incorrect calculations – which the program had catalogued and then posted on the internet for anyone to see. The problems turned out to be minor – just a few rounding errors – but the experience left Kauff feeling rattled.
  2. (by extension) A negligible fraction of something.
    Coordinate term: pocket change
    In the budget of the rocket forces, the 200 thousand dollars for the investigation was a mere rounding error.
    • 2009 September 30, Bobbie Johnson, quoting Steve Ballmer, “Does Google's Chrome Frame make your PC less secure?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 October 2026:
      Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, recently called Chrome's market share “a rounding error, to date” in an interview with TechCrunch.
    • 2017 June 27, Phillip Inman, quoting Carl Emmerson, “Extra £1bn for Northern Ireland will barely dent public finances”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 October 2026:
      As Carl Emmerson, deputy head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “The size of the UK’s public finances means you can give away £1bn a year and it’s not much more than a rounding error.”
    • 2018 June 24, “There’s no panic yet: but Trump’s trade war could get out of hand”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[4], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 October 2026:
      The sum of money involved is small and, compared to the trillions of dollars traded each year, almost a rounding error.

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