noun
abacus
A-buh-kuhs
noun
1
A manual calculating tool made of a frame with rows of sliding beads, used to add, subtract, and perform other arithmetic.
"Her grandmother could add up long columns of numbers on an abacus faster than most people with a calculator."
How to Use Abacus
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA wood-and-bead counting frame used to do arithmetic by hand.
Word Forms
abaci plural, abacuses plural
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Her grandmother could add up long columns of numbers on an _____ faster than most people with a calculator.
Etymology
From Latin abacus, from Ancient Greek ábax, meaning a slab or board covered in sand for drawing or counting.