Though the signs now seem as familiar as the alphabet or the Hindu–Arabic numerals, they are not of great antiquity. The Egyptian hieroglyphic sign for addition, for … See more

Some elementary teachers use raised minus signs before numbers to disambiguate them from the operation of subtraction. The same convention is also used in some … See more

As well as the normal mathematical usage, plus and minus signs may be used for a number of other purposes in computing.
Plus and minus signs are often used in tree view on a computer screen—to show if a folder is … See more

The plus sign (+) is a binary operator that indicates addition, as in 2 + 3 = 5. It can also serve as a unary operator that leaves its See more

The minus sign (−) has three main uses in mathematics:
1. The subtraction operator: a binary operator to indicate the operation of subtraction, as in 5 − … See more

When placed after a number, a plus sign can indicate an open range of numbers. For example, "18+" is commonly used as shorthand for "ages … See more

In physics, the use of plus and minus signs for different electrical charges was introduced by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg.
In chemistry, … See more