abs

Returns how far a number is from zero.

Synopsis

abs(number)

Description

abs removes the minus sign. It is useful for the distance between two numbers: abs(a - b).

Parameters

Return value

The same type of number, never negative.

Example

print(abs(-5))
print(abs(3.5))
print(abs(2 - 10))

It prints:

5
3.5
8

Common mistake

n = input("Number: ")
print(abs(n))

Python stops with:

Number: -5
TypeError: bad operand type for abs(): 'str'

input returns a string. Convert it first: abs(int(n)).

See also

int, min, max

abs in the Python documentation