Homonym: < (Symbol)
The symbol "<" is known as the "less than" sign in mathematics. It is used to compare two values, indicating that the value on the left is smaller than the value on the right. For example, in the expression 3 < 5, it shows that 3 is less than 5.
In programming and computer science, the "<" symbol is often used in conditional statements and loops. It helps determine the flow of a program by comparing numbers or variables. For instance, in a loop, a condition like "if x < 10" checks if the variable x is less than 10 before executing a block of code.