A fraction is a way of showing a part of a whole, written with one number over another, like 1/2 or 3/4. It can also mean a very small amount of something.
From Latin “fractio” meaning “a breaking,” from “frangere” (to break). The idea is that a whole is ‘broken’ into parts, which we then measure.
A fraction is literally a ‘broken’ number, showing how many pieces of a whole you have. Once you see that 3/4 is just ‘3 of 4 equal parts,’ a lot of fraction fear disappears—it’s just counting pieces of a cut‑up whole.
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