Less than or equal to sign (≤)
The less than or equal to sign (≤) means the left side is smaller than the right side or equal to it. It is the sign for “at most”: “no more than 100” is written ≤ 100.
Easily confused with
How to read it
It is read “is less than or equal to”: OpenStax’s Prealgebra says a ≤ b means a < b or a = b, and reads it “a is less than or equal to b”. The line under the less than sign is what adds “or equal”. The code point is U+2264, LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO.
Also searched as: ≤, at most symbol, less than or equal to symbol.
Look-alikes
≦ (U+2266), LESS-THAN OVER EQUAL TO, has two lines under the angle and is a separate character. Unicode also cross-refers ≤ to ⦤ (U+29A4), the angle with underbar. The greater than or equal to sign ≥ points the other way.
Words that mean ≤
OpenStax’s Elementary Algebra lists is less than or equal to, is at most, is no more than, and is the maximum.
More math symbols
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Mathematical Operators: Range 2200–22FF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, Mathematical Operators, 2264–2266
- Prealgebra 2e, 2.1 Use the Language of Algebra, OpenStax (Rice University), Inequality; Table 2.2
- Elementary Algebra 2e, 2.7 Solve Linear Inequalities, OpenStax (Rice University), Translate to an Inequality and Solve; Table 2.7
- Earliest Uses of Symbols of Relation, Jeff Miller, Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols, MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews, Less than or equal to, greater than or equal to
Last reviewed September 30, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research