dimensionless
An dimensionless quantity is a value without units or measurement.
When we talk about numbers that describe things like speed or temperature, we often use special names to refer to them. For example, we might say "this engine's efficiency is 0.8" and it sounds okay because the number makes sense in context. But if you took that same number and said "it's a dimensionless quantity of 0.8", it would mean something completely different – that this value has no units or measurement attached to it, so it can be compared directly with other values without worrying about things like time or distance.
How common is "dimensionless"?
It appears most frequently in academic texts and less often in other writings.
adjective
Lacking dimensions.
Example: 1930, E. E. Smith, Skylark Three, Fantasy Press, 1948, Chapter 3, They saw the utter, absolute darkness of the complete absence of all light; and upon that indescribable blackness they beheld superimposed the almost unbearable brilliance of enormous suns concentrated into mathematical points, dimensionless.
Real examples of "dimensionless" in context
