What ≪ means
The left quantity is much smaller than the right.
In a ≪ b, the argument decides how large the gap must be. In number theory, f(x) ≪ g(x) can mean that f is bounded by a constant multiple of g. In measure theory, ν ≪ μ means absolute continuity.
The doubled sign's exact origin remains unresolved as of 2026. Ordinary < and > appeared in Thomas Harriot's posthumous 1631 work. ≪ repeats < and pairs with ≫. Some fonts draw its chevrons nested; Unicode still treats it as one operator.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why 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 ≪
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 226A, then Alt+X 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 “much less-than”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 226a, then Enter or Space.
HTML
≪CSS
\226ALaTeX
Use **\ll** in math mode; both characters are lowercase l.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
≪
HTML hex
≪
CSS content
content: "\226A";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%89%AA
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.