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≲

less-than or equivalent to

Less Than or Equivalent To

≲ usually compares the left side with the right as lower or roughly equal. In physics it can mean “less than about”; some estimates use a constant-factor bound.

Text symbol

What ≲ means

It is a one-sided “less than or roughly equal” relation.

In physics, the left side is below or near the right. In PDEs (partial differential equations about changing quantities), some authors define the lesssim notation f ≲ g as f ≤ Cg, with fixed multiplier C; f may be larger, and C may depend on parameters.

Check the paper's definition; reverses the direction.

Math shorthand; define it for mixed audiences.

Check the definition before treating it as exact.

What it means when someone sends it to you

2 readings

Below or near the stated value.

Don't confuse it with

≤

Less-Than Or Equal To

Compare ≲ and ≤: ≤ is exact; ≲ allows approximation or a constant-factor bound.

≈

Almost Equal To

Approximate equality, without a less-than direction.

Questions people ask

Why does ≲ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.

How to type or find ≲

Also called: lesssim · less than approximately equal
Search it as: lessapprox · less than about
Shows up in: Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

Windows (Word)

⎇Alt+XType 2272, then AltX to get ≲.

Windows

⊞Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win .).

macOS

⌃Control+⌘Command+␣SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “less-than or equivalent to”.

Linux

⎈Ctrl+⇧Shift+UType 2272, then Enter or Space.

HTML

≲

CSS

\2272

LaTeX

In math mode, write \lesssim; the amssymb package defines it.

Codes and encoding1 code points

HTML decimal

≲

HTML hex

≲

CSS content

content: "\2272";

Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.

URL encoded

%E2%89%B2

On screen

Code points

JS .length

UTF-8 bytes

A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.

Families this belongs to

Maths & numbers1,835 symbols

1️⃣📏📐✖️➕➖➗🟰♾️#️⃣*️⃣0️⃣