Division Symbol: What ÷ Means And How To Type It
The short version
- The division symbol ÷ is called an obelus. It means “divided by,” so 12 ÷ 3 reads “twelve divided by three.”
- There are four ways to write the same thing: ÷, a slash like 12/3, a fraction bar with 12 on top and 3 underneath, and the long division bracket.
- Order matters. 12 ÷ 3 is 4, but 3 ÷ 12 is 0.25. The number being split goes first.
- To type ÷: Option and / on a Mac, Alt and 0247 on the number pad in Windows, or the second symbols page on a phone keyboard.
- Division and multiplication rank equally in order of operations, so you work left to right. 24 ÷ 4 × 2 = 12, not 3.
The division symbol ÷ means “divided by.” Its real name is the obelus, a horizontal bar with a dot above and a dot below, and the dots are a picture of the answer: one number sitting over another, the way a fraction looks. 20 ÷ 4 = 5 is read out loud as “twenty divided by four equals five.”
It isn’t the only division symbol your child will meet, and the switch between them causes more confusion than the arithmetic does. Elementary worksheets use ÷. Spreadsheets and calculators use /. Algebra drops both and writes everything as a fraction. They all mean the identical operation.
Every way to write division
| Symbol | Name | Read as | Example | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ÷ | Obelus | 12 divided by 3 | 12 ÷ 3 = 4 | Elementary worksheets, calculator keys |
| / | Slash or solidus | 12 divided by 3 | 12/3 = 4 | Spreadsheets, code, typing on one line |
| Fraction bar | Vinculum | 12 over 3 | 12 on top of 3 | Algebra and everything after it |
| Long division bracket | Tableau | 3 goes into 12 | 3 outside, 12 inside | Working out a quotient by hand |
| : | Colon | 12 to 3 | 12:3 | Ratios, not standard division in the US |
Watch the long division bracket row, because it flips the word order. With ÷ you say “12 divided by 3.” With the bracket you say “3 goes into 12,” and the number that was first is now the one tucked inside. Plenty of kids set up the bracket backwards for exactly this reason.
How to type the division symbol
Nobody’s keyboard has a ÷ key, which is why this question gets searched so often.
| Device | What to press |
|---|---|
| Mac | Option and / at the same time |
| Windows | Hold Alt and type 0247 on the number pad |
| Windows, no number pad | Press Windows and the period key, then pick the symbol from the panel |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00F7 then press Alt and X |
| iPhone or iPad | Tap 123, then tap the second symbols key, and ÷ is on that page |
| Android | Tap ?123, then the second symbols page |
| Google Docs | Insert menu, then Special characters, then search “division” |
If none of that is handy, copy and paste ÷ from anywhere, or just use a slash. In almost every context 12/3 is read the same way.
What the parts of a division problem are called
These three words show up in test directions, so they’re worth five minutes.
In 12 ÷ 3 = 4:
12 is the dividend, the amount being shared out.
3 is the divisor, the number of groups or the size of each group.
4 is the quotient, the answer.
The dividend always comes first with the ÷ sign, and it always goes inside the long division bracket. If your child can hold on to that one pairing, setup errors mostly disappear.
Division symbol order, and why it can’t be flipped
Addition and multiplication don’t care about order. 3 + 12 and 12 + 3 both give 15. Division does care.
12 ÷ 3 = 4
3 ÷ 12 = 0.25
Different question, different answer. The first asks how many 3s fit inside 12. The second asks what share of 12 a single 3 is. A kid who “just divides the big one by the small one” gets lucky on worksheets and then gets word problems wrong, because sometimes the answer really is supposed to be less than 1.
Worked examples
Long division with the bracket
Divide 852 by 4. The 4 goes outside, the 852 goes inside.
4 into 8 goes 2 times. Write 2 above the 8. 2 × 4 = 8, and 8 – 8 = 0.
Bring down the 5. 4 into 5 goes 1 time. Write 1. 1 × 4 = 4, and 5 – 4 = 1.
Bring down the 2 next to that 1, making 12. 4 into 12 goes 3 times. Write 3.
The quotient is 213.
Check by multiplying back: 213 × 4 = 852. Correct.
Division with a remainder
Divide 47 by 5.
5 × 9 = 45, which is as close as you can get without going over.
47 – 45 = 2 left over.
So 47 ÷ 5 = 9 remainder 2.
Check it: 9 × 5 + 2 = 45 + 2 = 47. Correct. Written as a decimal the same problem gives 9.4, and written as a mixed number it’s 9 and 2/5. All three are the same answer in different outfits.
The fraction bar is a division symbol too
3/4 doesn’t only mean three slices of a pizza cut in four. It also means 3 ÷ 4, and if you do that division you get 0.75. This is the connection that makes decimals and fractions click, and a lot of kids never get told about it directly.
Division in order of operations
Division and multiplication sit on the same rung. Neither one outranks the other, so you handle them left to right, in the order they appear.
24 ÷ 4 × 2
Work left to right: 24 ÷ 4 = 6
Then 6 × 2 = 12
The wrong path is doing 4 × 2 first because multiplication feels like it comes earlier in the alphabet soup. That gives 24 ÷ 8 = 3, which is not the answer.
Two divisions in a row work the same way.
100 ÷ 10 ÷ 5
100 ÷ 10 = 10
10 ÷ 5 = 2
Common mistakes with the division symbol
Setting up the bracket backwards. For 852 ÷ 4, the 852 goes inside. Saying “4 goes into 852” out loud while writing it helps.
Reversing the numbers with ÷. The dividend is first. 3 ÷ 12 is not the same problem as 12 ÷ 3.
Treating a fraction bar as unrelated. 8/2 is a division problem with the answer 4.
Doing multiplication before division by default. They tie, so left to right wins.
Confusing ÷ with + on a quick glance. Young kids really do misread the two, especially in small print. Have them circle the sign before starting.
Dividing by zero. 8 ÷ 0 has no answer. There’s no number you could multiply by 0 to get back to 8.
Practice problems
1. Solve 56 ÷ 8.
2. Write 18 ÷ 3 two other ways using different division symbols.
3. Solve 96 ÷ 4 using long division.
4. Solve 91 ÷ 7.
5. Solve 63 ÷ 4 and give the remainder.
6. Solve 36 ÷ 6 ÷ 3.
7. Solve 20 ÷ 5 × 2.
8. Is 8 ÷ 2 the same as 2 ÷ 8? Show both answers.
Answers
1. 7, because 8 × 7 = 56.
2. 18/3, and 18 written on top of 3 as a fraction. The long division bracket with 3 outside and 18 inside works too.
3. 24. Check: 24 × 4 = 96.
4. 13. Check: 13 × 7 = 91.
5. 15 remainder 3, since 4 × 15 = 60 and 63 – 60 = 3. Check: 15 × 4 + 3 = 63.
6. Left to right: 36 ÷ 6 = 6, then 6 ÷ 3 = 2.
7. Left to right: 20 ÷ 5 = 4, then 4 × 2 = 8.
8. No. 8 ÷ 2 = 4 and 2 ÷ 8 = 0.25. Division isn’t reversible.
What it means if your kid is stuck here
If the symbol itself is the problem, that’s a one evening fix. Write the same problem four ways on one sheet of paper, with the answer under each, and let your child see that ÷, the slash, the fraction bar and the bracket are four costumes on one idea.
The deeper stall is different. Most kids who freeze at a division problem aren’t confused about notation, they’re missing multiplication facts. Long division asks “what times 4 gets close to 12” at every single step, and a child who has to count up to answer that will lose their place by the third digit. If you see the work slow down and the errors cluster in the middle of long problems, the gap is fact fluency from third grade, not division from fourth. Is My Child Behind In Math? 12 Signs By Grade Level covers how that looks year by year, and Math Skills By Grade Level: What Your Child Should Know lays out where division is supposed to land.
This one is worth fixing now rather than later, because the fraction bar version of division is the doorway into fractions, and shaky fractions are the usual reason algebra collapses two or three years on. We went into that in Struggling With Algebra? The Real Problem Is Usually Fourth Grade Fractions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the divide symbol called?
The ÷ sign is an obelus. The slash is a solidus, the fraction bar is a vinculum, and the long division bracket is sometimes called a tableau. Most teachers just say “the division sign.”
How do you type the division symbol on a keyboard?
Option and / on a Mac. Hold Alt and type 0247 on the number pad in Windows. On a phone, open the numbers keyboard and then the second page of symbols. Copying and pasting ÷ works everywhere.
Is / the same as ÷?
Yes, in ordinary arithmetic. 12/3 and 12 ÷ 3 both equal 4. The slash is what you use when everything has to stay on one line, which is why spreadsheets and programming languages prefer it.
Which number goes inside the long division bracket?
The dividend, meaning the number being divided up. For 852 ÷ 4, the 852 goes inside and the 4 sits outside on the left.
What does the division symbol mean in a fraction?
The bar between the top and bottom numbers is a division sign. 5/8 means 5 ÷ 8, which works out to 0.625.
Find the actual gap
Notation questions are quick to answer. The slower problem is a child who understands the symbol and still can’t finish the problem, and that usually traces back a grade or two.
Math Anon starts with a short adaptive assessment that gets harder or easier as your child answers, then gives you a written report naming the specific skills that came up missing, right down to which multiplication facts aren’t automatic. After that it’s about 20 minutes of targeted practice a day and a progress report each week. Start the assessment for $49, credited back in full on your first month, with the details on the pricing page.
