÷
÷ Division Sign
The division sign (÷), properly the obelus, means “divided by”. Outside school arithmetic, a fraction bar or / is preferred — ÷ is ambiguous.
Also known as: division sign, divide symbol, divided by symbol, obelus.
Codes
| Symbol | ÷ | |
| Unicode | U+00F7 | |
| HTML entity (named) | ÷ | |
| HTML entity (decimal) | ÷ | |
| HTML entity (hex) | ÷ | |
| CSS | \00F7 | |
| LaTeX | \div | |
| Windows Alt code | Alt + 0247 |
How to type ÷ (Division Sign)
WindowsAlt + 0247
Hold Alt and type 0247 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
Mac⌥ + /
Press Option + / (the forward-slash key) on the US layout.
Microsoft Word00F7, Alt + X
Type 00F7, then press Alt + X to convert it to ÷.
Google Docs
Insert → Special characters, then search “division”.
LaTeX\div
Use \div in math mode: 12 \div 4. For real work prefer \frac{12}{4}, which is unambiguous.
Usage
- ÷ means divided by: 12 ÷ 4 = 3.
- Which one to use: ISO 80000-2 advises against ÷ precisely because it is ambiguous — an expression like 6 ÷ 2(1+2) is exactly the viral-argument shape it creates. Past primary school, write a fraction bar or /, which force the grouping to be explicit.
- The three division-ish slashes are different characters: / (U+002F, the key on your keyboard), ∕ (U+2215, division slash) and ⁄ (U+2044, fraction slash). Plain / is right for text and code.
- The dots-and-bar glyph is called an obelus. In LaTeX, \div renders it; \frac{a}{b} is the form real mathematics uses.