Meaning of equal in English

equal

adjective

/ˈiː.kwəl/ uk

/ˈiː.kwəl/

equal adjective (SAME)

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the same in amount, number, or size:

One quart is equal to two pints.

equal in One box may look bigger than the other, but in fact they are roughly (= almost) equal in volume.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

exactly like each other

the sameI have the same dress as her.
identicalThe employees all wore identical blue shirts.
indistinguishableThe counterfeit certificate was so good it was indistinguishable from the real thing.
equalFour groups of ten is equal to two groups of twenty.

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the same in importance and deserving the same treatment:

All people are equal, deserving the same rights as each other.

equal pay/status They have a long way to go before they achieve equal pay/status for men and women.

More examplesFewer examples

Are the two bags equal in weight?
He believes that all children are born with equal intelligence.
We must make sure that everyone gets equal shares of the food.
Applicants should have a degree or a qualification of equal status.
One unit of alcohol is equal to half a pint of beer or a standard measure of spirits.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Similar and the same

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equal adjective (ABLE)

[ after verb ] formal

skilled or brave enough for a difficult duty or piece of work:

prove equal to It's a challenging job but I'm sure you'll prove equal to it.

equal to the task Do you think he's equal to the task ahead of him?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Skilled, talented and able

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equal

noun [ C ]

/ˈiː.kwəl/ uk

/ˈiː.kwəl/

someone or something that has the same importance as someone or something else and deserves the same treatment:

The good thing about her as a boss is that she treats us all as equals.

Throughout her marriage she never considered her husband as her intellectual equal.

have no equal As an all-around athlete he has no equal (= no-one else is as good).

Synonym

match

Compare

peer noun

More examplesFewer examples

She found that if women did serious and worthwhile scientific work, male scientists were willing to treat them as equals.
As a friend and companion, no one could ever be her equal.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Organizations - position & status

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equal

verb [ L only + noun, T ]

/ˈiː.kwəl/ uk

/ˈiː.kwəl/

-ll- or US usually -l-

equal verb [L only + noun, T] (BE THE SAME)

to be the same in value or amount as something else:

16 ounces equals one pound.

to achieve the same standard or level as someone else, or the same standard or level as you did before:

We raised over $500 for charity last year and we're hoping to equal that this year.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Being or appearing similar or the same

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equal verb [L only + noun, T] (RESULT IN)

to result in something:

He disputed the idea that more money equals better education.

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Causing things to happen

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(Definition of equal from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

equal | Intermediate English

equal

adjective

/ˈi·kwəl/

equal adjective (SAME IN AMOUNT)

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mathematics

(symbol =)

the same in amount, number, or size:

One quart is equal to four cups.

Divide the class into equal groups.

equal adjective (DESERVING THE SAME)

the same in importance and (of people) deserving the same treatment:

equal rights

We want a society that promotes equal opportunity for all of its citizens.

equally

adjective us

/ˈi·kwə·li/

The money was shared equally among the three sisters.

equal

noun [ C ]

/ˈi·kwəl/

equal noun [C] (PERSON/THING)

someone or something that is the same in amount, size, or importance as another person or thing:

In this country, we’re all equals with the same rights.

As an all-around athlete he has no equal (= no one else is as good).

equal

verb

/ˈi·kwəl/

(symbol =)

equal verb (BE SAME IN AMOUNT)

mathematics

to be the same in amount, number, size, or importance as another:

[ L ] 10 + 10 = 20

[ T ] We hope to equal the amount of money we raised last year.

(Definition of equal from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

equal | Business English

equal

adjective

/ˈiːkwəl/ us

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the same in price, number, size, etc.:

The values of cross-border and internal sales were about equal over the year.

an equal amount/number/share Instead of an equal share, we got only one-fifth of the profits.

equal to sth She received a bonus of $15,065, equal to 40% of her salary.

equal in number/value/size Sakhalin is an island north of Japan, with oil and gas reserves equal in size to those remaining in the North Sea.

treating everyone in the same way or allowing everyone to have the same opportunities:

Relationships within an organization are never equal.

Congress should focus its efforts on providing equal access to good quality education and job skills.

on an equal basis/footing/on equal terms By law, job applications from disabled people should be treated on an equal basis to those from non-disabled candidates.

all things being equal

if the situation remains the same as it is now, or continues as expected:

All things being equal, the market should have recovered by the end of the year.

be equal to (doing) sth

to have the ability, experience, or skill that is necessary to do something difficult:

I'm not sure he's equal to the demands of such a high-pressure job.

equal

verb [ T ]

/ˈiːkwəl/ us

UK -ll- | US -l-

to be the same in price, number, size, etc:

Pre-tax profits are likely to equal last year's despite a £41 million share buy-back programme.

Casinos currently pay tax equaling 20% of their gross revenue.

equal the cost/number/amount of sth If every household used energy-saving bulbs, the reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions would equal the amount produced by almost 800,000 cars.

if one thing equals another thing, it results in that thing:

Experience has shown us that more accountability equals better performance.

equal

noun [ C ]

/ˈiːkwəl/ us

someone or something who is as important, successful, etc. as someone or something else:

be the equal of sb/be sb's equal The EU increasingly sees itself as the equal of the US.

On a professional and personal level the two men were equals.

treat/accept/see sb as an equal Even though I was only a trainee, I was treated as an equal by the other staff.

(Definition of equal from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of equal

equal

They do not mind as long as they are somewhat equal in size.

From Phys.Org

However, it is no longer the land with the most equal opportunity.

From MLive.com

If everyone can join it, with equal access and no undue ownership, the world will be a much better place.

From Wired

And the latter's chances were roughly equal to someone who'd only held one or two jobs but lacked relevant experience.

From ThinkProgress

Less mowing, less edging, less fertilizing and less weeding equal more time to relax and enjoy one's yard instead of working in it.

From Plain Dealer

So doesn't that mean women's current rights to equal pay are safe?

From ThinkProgress

In some types of crosses, two traits would appear in roughly equal numbers; in others, the ratio would be closer to 3:1.

From Ars Technica

The sweetness, spiciness, and smokiness of this almost-black puree exactly equal each other.

From The Atlantic

Only then will we be able to fight them on equal terms.

From Slate Magazine

But if we look a little closer, not all states or countries are created equal when it comes to producing professional athletes.

From Business Insider

Nor do we see that two people leading the same active life develop bad hips or knees at the same time or to equal severity.

From Huffington Post

Everybody can be who they want to be and have equal access and equal say.

From NPR

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

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