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ABS

Returns the absolute value of a number (distance from zero).

Quick Example​

=ABS(-42)

Returns 42.

Syntax​

=ABS(number)

Arguments​

  • number (required): The number for which you want the absolute value

Examples​

Basic Absolute Value​

=ABS(-15)

Returns 15

Positive Number​

=ABS(25)

Returns 25 (already positive)

Calculate Difference​

=ABS(A1-B1)

Returns the absolute difference between two values, regardless of which is larger

Convert Negative to Positive​

=ABS(A1)

If A1 = -100, returns 100

Distance Calculation​

=ABS(Target - Actual)

Calculate how far off a value is from the target

Zero​

=ABS(0)

Returns 0

How It Works​

Mathematical Definition​

The absolute value of a number is its distance from zero:

  • For positive numbers: ABS(n) = n
  • For negative numbers: ABS(-n) = n
  • For zero: ABS(0) = 0

Single Cell References​

If you pass a range that refers to a single cell, ABS extracts the value:

=ABS(A1)

Gets the value in A1 and returns its absolute value

Multi-Cell Ranges Not Supported​

=ABS(A1:A10)

Returns #VALUE! error (ABS only works with single values)

Common Use Cases​

Calculate Variance​

=ABS(Actual - Budget)

Find the absolute variance between actual and budgeted amounts

Distance Calculations​

=ABS(X2 - X1)

Calculate the distance between two points on a number line

Error Margin​

=IF(ABS(A1-B1) <= 0.01, "Match", "No Match")

Check if two values are within 0.01 of each other

Temperature Differences​

=ABS(High_Temp - Low_Temp)

Calculate the temperature range

Accounting​

=ABS(Credits - Debits)

Calculate the absolute difference regardless of which is larger

Error Handling​

Error Propagation​

If the argument contains an error, ABS returns that error:

=ABS(#DIV/0!)

Returns #DIV/0!

Common Errors​

ErrorCauseSolution
#VALUE!Non-numeric argument or multi-cell rangeEnsure argument is a single number or cell reference
#REF!Invalid cell referenceVerify cell reference exists
#NAME?Function name misspelledCheck spelling: =ABS not =ABSOLUTE

Range Error​

=ABS(A1:A10)

Returns #VALUE! (ABS requires a single value)

Technical Details​

Implementation Notes​

  • Requires exactly 1 argument
  • Only accepts single values or single-cell references
  • Uses standard absolute value function from C++ std::abs()
  • Does not work with multi-cell ranges

Type Coercion​

Text that can be converted to numbers is accepted:

=ABS("-42")

Returns 42 (string is coerced to number)

Cell Reference Handling​

=ABS(A1)
  • If A1 contains a number: returns absolute value
  • If A1 contains text that looks like a number: converted and absolute value returned
  • If A1 is empty: returns 0 (empty is treated as 0)

Mathematical Properties​

Always Non-Negative​

The result of ABS is always ≥ 0:

=ABS(-1000)  // Returns 1000
=ABS(0)      // Returns 0
=ABS(1000)   // Returns 1000

Idempotent​

Applying ABS multiple times has the same effect as applying it once:

=ABS(ABS(ABS(-5)))  // Returns 5
  • SQRT - Calculate square root
  • ROUND - Round numbers
  • IF - Conditional logic
  • MIN - Find minimum value
  • MAX - Find maximum value