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# equal

«equal» in Mova's school dictionary: **the same in size, number or amount: equal groups** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective; verb (equal, equals, equalled/equaled, equalling/equaling); noun (an equal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Equal means the same in size, number or amount: equal groups. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m1)

2) In maths, «equals» (=) means «is the same as»: 3 + 4 equals 7. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m2)

3) Equal means having the same rights and being treated the same way: all people are equal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m3)

4) An equal is a person of the same standing as you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m4)

5) To equal something is to be as good as it: she equalled the school record. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m5)

6) (casual) Chatty speakers say «fair», «even», «same-same», «half-half», «fifty-fifty», «split it even» for equal shares. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m6)

7) (formal) The exam voice says «equivalent», «identical in magnitude», «of equal cardinality», «in equal proportion», «equitably». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#m7)

### sense in the lessons

groups of the same size («equal groups» for multiplying and dividing); the sign = («equals»); «equal parts» in fractions (a half is one of 2 equal parts); in everyday life fairness, equal turns, equal rights, «equal pay»; in sport «equalise» (UK: score to make it level); in casual talk «split it even», «fifty-fifty», «that's not fair, she got more»; in the exam voice «distributed equitably», «in equal proportion», «equivalent»

### examples

- Today's lesson: Multiplying as equal groups. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x1)
- 35 books are put into 7 equal groups. How many books are in each group? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x2)
- Make 4 equal rows of 5 chairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x3)
- Six plus two equals eight. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x4)
- Cut the cake into four equal pieces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x5)
- Everyone gets an equal turn on the swing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x6)
- The two teams scored an equal number of goals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x7)
- Boys and girls should be treated as equals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x8)
- split the pizza even, 8 slices 4 of us [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x9)
- oi that's not fair, his half is bigger! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x10)
- Thirty-five volumes are distributed equitably among seven groups; determine the cardinality of each group. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x11)
- This he did very fairly, giving each an equal share. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/#x12)

### note

«equal groups» alone does not decide. Trap: given the number of groups and the size of one, multiply; given the total and the number of groups, divide. The sign = means both sides are the same, not «write the answer». US spelling «equaled», UK «equalled». «split it even», «fifty-fifty» and «equitably» mean equal shares: divide. «Fifty-fifty» between two means halves, not 50 each.

### In the corpora

- [In the Müller-Lyer illusion, two equal lines look different lengths because of the arrow ends; a ruler shows the truth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/313-kind-jokes-pranks-april-fools-and-adverts/6/)
- [Big gifts can make others feel they owe you; small or equal gifts keep things comfortable.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/492-friends-who-only-come-for-the-pool-rich-kids-and-rumours/36/)
- [Contour lines join points of equal height above sea level, and lines drawn close together mean the ground is steep.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/1-maps-and-scale/9/)
- [In the northern hemisphere, the height of the Pole Star above the horizon in degrees is roughly equal to your latitude.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/2-directions-latitude-and-longitude/11/)
- [The safety bicycle with two equal wheels and a chain came in the 1880s and let many women travel alone for the first time.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/62-everyday-inventions-pots-boats-wheels-horses-clocks-and-glasses/23/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «equal» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/equal/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.