The symbol ">” is known as the "greater than" sign in mathematics. It is used to compare two values, indicating that the value on the left is larger than the value on the right. For example, in the expression 5 > 3, it shows that 5 is greater than 3. In programming and computer science, the "greater than" sign is often used in conditional statements to control the flow of a program. It helps determine whether certain conditions are met, allowing for decision-making processes in languages like Python and Java.