Definition
Digit
A digit is one of the ten symbols 0–9 used to write base-ten numerals.
What it means
Digits are the symbols we arrange to write numerals. The same digit can represent different values in different places. In 25, the 2 means two tens; in 205, the 2 means two hundreds.
Remember it
The symbol tells which digit; the place tells its value.
Example
In 8,307, the digits are 8, 3, 0, and 7. The 3 is in the hundreds place, so it represents 300. The 0 holds the tens place, showing that there are no tens.
Watch for
The numeral 27 is not one digit. It is a two-digit numeral made from the digits 2 and 7.
Common mix-up
A digit is a writing symbol. A number is the mathematical value, and a numeral is a written representation of that value.
Exact meaning
In the base-ten numeral system, a digit is one of the ten symbols 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; its place in a numeral determines the value it represents there.