functions of a real returning respectively the largest smaller and the smallest larger integer
{\displaystyle \lfloor x\rfloor =x-\{x\}}
{\displaystyle \lfloor x\rfloor =m}
{\displaystyle \lfloor x\rfloor }
{\displaystyle \lfloor x\rfloor \leq \lceil x\rceil ,}
In mathematics, the floor function is the function that takes as input a real number x, and gives as output the greatest integer less than or equal to x, denoted ⌊xβŒ‹ or … Wikipedia
🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org β€Ί wiki β€Ί Floor_and_ceiling_functions
Floor and ceiling functions - Wikipedia
February 5, 2026 - In mathematics, the floor function is the function that takes as input a real number x, and gives as output the greatest integer less than or equal to x, denoted ⌊xβŒ‹ or floor(x). Similarly, the ceiling function maps x to the least integer greater than or equal to x, denoted ⌈xβŒ‰ or ceil(x).
🌐
MedCalc
medcalc.org β€Ί en β€Ί manual β€Ί ceil-function.php
CEIL function calculator and graph - MedCalc Manual
September 9, 2025 - CEIL(-1.6) equals -1 Β· Enter the argument(s) for the function, including the symbol x. Enter the minimum and maximum for the X-axis and for the Y-axis. To let the software define the Y-axis automatically, leave both input fields for the Y-axis empty. FLOOR function Β· ROUND function Β· INT function Β· MOD function Β· TRUNC function Β· List of Mathematical functions Β·
People also ask

What is a ceiling function in mathematics?
In mathematics, the ceiling function, denoted as f(x) = ⌈xβŒ‰, is a function that takes a real number 'x' as input and gives the smallest integer that is greater than or equal to 'x'. It essentially rounds a number up to the next nearest integer.
🌐
vedantu.com
vedantu.com β€Ί maths β€Ί ceiling function: definition, formula & examples
Ceiling Function Explained with Examples | Maths Guide
What is the difference between ceiling function and floor function?
The ceiling function returns the smallest nearest integer which is greater than or equal to the specified number whereas the floor function returns the largest nearest integer which is less than or equal to a specified value.
🌐
byjus.com
byjus.com β€Ί maths β€Ί ceiling-function
Ceiling Function Definition
What is the main difference between the ceiling function and the floor function?
The primary difference lies in the direction of rounding. The ceiling function (⌈xβŒ‰) always rounds a number up to the nearest integer. In contrast, the floor function (⌊xβŒ‹) always rounds a number down to the nearest integer. For example, for the number 5.7, the ceiling is ⌈5.7βŒ‰ = 6, while the floor is ⌊5.7βŒ‹ = 5.
🌐
vedantu.com
vedantu.com β€Ί maths β€Ί ceiling function: definition, formula & examples
Ceiling Function Explained with Examples | Maths Guide
🌐
MDN Web Docs
developer.mozilla.org β€Ί en-US β€Ί docs β€Ί Web β€Ί JavaScript β€Ί Reference β€Ί Global_Objects β€Ί Math β€Ί ceil
Math.ceil() - JavaScript | MDN
The Math.ceil() static method always rounds up and returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to a given number.
🌐
W3Schools
w3schools.com β€Ί c β€Ί ref_math_ceil.php
C Math ceil() Function
C Examples C Real-Life Examples ... printf("%f", ceil(-5.9)); Try it Yourself Β» Β· The ceil() function rounds a number UP to the nearest integer....
🌐
Programiz
programiz.com β€Ί c-programming β€Ί library-function β€Ί math.h β€Ί ceil
C ceil() - C Standard Library
The ceil() function computes the nearest integer greater than the argument passed.
🌐
Brilliant
brilliant.org β€Ί wiki β€Ί ceiling-function
Ceiling Function | Brilliant Math & Science Wiki
The best way to learn math and computer science. Log in with Google Log in with Facebook Log in with email ... Already have an account? Log in here. ... The ceiling function (also known as the least integer function) of a real number \(x,\) denoted \(\lceil x\rceil,\) is defined as the smallest integer that is not smaller than \(x.\)
🌐
BYJUS
byjus.com β€Ί maths β€Ί ceiling-function
Ceiling Function Definition
June 7, 2022 - Ceiling function is a function in which the smallest successive integer is returned. In other words, the ceiling function of a real number x is the least integer that is greater than or equal to the given number x.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Math is Fun
mathsisfun.com β€Ί sets β€Ί function-floor-ceiling.html
Floor and Ceiling Functions
The floor and ceiling functions give us the nearest integer up or down. The Floor of 2.31 is 2 The Ceiling of 2.31 is 3.
🌐
VEDANTU
vedantu.com β€Ί maths β€Ί ceiling function: definition, formula & examples
Ceiling Function Explained with Examples | Maths Guide
June 11, 2020 - In other terms, the ceiling function of a real number β€˜m’ is the least integer that is greater than or equal to the given number β€˜m’. It represented by ⌈ βŒ‰ and can be used as ⌈mβŒ‰ or ceil (m) or f(m) = ⌈mβŒ‰. It is often used as a rounding function. This is a single-value function. The ceiling function is mathematically defined as:
🌐
Google Support
support.google.com β€Ί docs β€Ί answer β€Ί 9061515
CEILING.MATH function - Google Docs Editors Help
CEILING: The CEILING function rounds a number up to the nearest integer multiple of specified significance. ROUNDUP: Rounds a number to a certain number of decimal places, always rounding up to the next valid increment. ROUND: The ROUND function rounds a number to a certain number of decimal ...
Top answer
1 of 3
3

Simply put it's two ways of thinking of rounding off a number. Ceiling rounds up to nearest integer. Floor rounds down to nearest integer. If the number is an integer, nothing happens.

2 of 3
3

It's easy to think about floor and ceil from the perspective of the number line. Let's say you have some decimal number, $2.31$ (I'm going to be using this number as an example throughout my answer) $\hskip2in$
So, as you can see, the functions just return the nearest integer values.
floor returns the nearest lowest integer and ceil returns the nearest highest integer.

All real numbers are made of a characteristic (an integer part) and mantissa (a fractional part) $$\text{Number} = \text{Characteristic} + \text{Mantissa}$$ $$2.31 = 2 + 0.31$$

When floor a number, you can think of it as replacing the Mantissa with $0$ $$\lfloor 2.31 \rfloor = 2 + 0 = 2$$

and ceil can be thought of as replacing the mantissa with $1$. $$\lceil 2.31 \rceil = 2 + 1 = 3$$

That's not a very popular way of thinking about it but it was the way I thought about it when I first started using it in programming.

Remember, the number remains the same when it is an integer. ie, floor($3$) $=$ ceil($3$) $= 3$


Let's now look at the proper definitions along with the graphs for them.

Floor Function: Returns the greatest integer that is less than or equal to $x$ $\hskip2in$

Ceiling Function: Returns the least integer that is greater than or equal to $x$ $\hskip2in$

Don't let the infinite staircase scare you. It's much more simpler than it seems. Those "line-segments" that you see are actually called piecewise-step functions.

Simply, the black dot represents 'including this number' and the white represents 'excluding this number'. Meaning that each segment actually is from x to all numbers less than x+1.


Let's look at 2.31 and how it would look on both the graphs at once. You can see that the line $x=2.31$ hits the floor function at the "line-piece" for $2$ and hits the ceiling function at $3$

🌐
STEMpedia
ai.thestempedia.com β€Ί home β€Ί python functions β€Ί math.ceil()
Learn Python math.ceil() Function | Python Programming Tutorial
June 27, 2023 - Python math.ceil() function can be used in situations where we want to round a number up to its nearest integer. It is commonly used in situations such as calculating the largest integer that is less than or equal to a given number.
🌐
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com β€Ί en-us β€Ί office β€Ί ceiling-math-function-80f95d2f-b499-4eee-9f16-f795a8e306c8
CEILING.MATH function - Microsoft Support
The CEILING.MATH function rounds a number up to the nearest integer or, optionally, to the nearest multiple of significance.
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org β€Ί python β€Ί python-math-ceil-function
math.ceil() function - Python - GeeksforGeeks
November 17, 2025 - math.ceil() function returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to a given number. It always rounds a value upward to the nearest whole number.
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org β€Ί mathematics β€Ί ceiling-function
Ceiling Function: Definition, Symbol, Properties, Graph, Examples - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - The Ceiling Function is a mathematical function that returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to a given number. It is denoted as ⌈xβŒ‰ or ceil(x).
🌐
LogScale
library.humio.com β€Ί data-analysis β€Ί functions-math-ceil.html
math:ceil() | Data Analysis 1.229.0-1.231.0 | LogScale Documentation
In this example, the math:ceil() function is used to demonstrate ceiling rounding behavior with a decimal number, showing how it always rounds up to the next integer regardless of the decimal value.
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org β€Ί c language β€Ί c-ceil-function
C ceil() Function - GeeksforGeeks
July 7, 2024 - C ceil() is a built-in library function that computes the smallest integer value greater than or equal to the given floating-point number. It is defined inside the <math.h> header file with its prototype as follows:
🌐
Cuemath
cuemath.com β€Ί algebra β€Ί floor-and-ceiling-function
Floor Function and Ceiling Function - Definition, Formulas, Properties, Examples
The floor function gives an integer number value which is a numeric value lesser than the value of the function, and a ceiling function gives an integer number value which is a numeric value greater than the value of the function.