What is a 1/2 digit on a DMM?

• A. Smaller physical readout on the left side of the display.
• B. Partial extended accuracy on lower part of the range.
• C. Smaller physical readout on the right side.
• D. Does not apply to DMMs.

Answer: (B)

A 1/2 digit in a digital multimeter is the leftmost position of the display that can only show 0 or 1. This lets the meter reach higher maximum readings (for example, a four-and-a-half digit display can show up to 19,999) without adding a full extra digit. So it provides a partial extension of the display range, which improves the effective resolution at the high end, but the digit itself isn’t a full 0–9 place. It’s not a separate small readout on the side, and DMMs do use this feature in many models, so those other ideas don’t fit.