# `abs`

_Absolute value_
```syntax
abs x    abs[x]
```

Where `x` is a numeric, returns
the absolute value of `x`.
`x` is returned if `x` is null.
`abs` also works with temporal values, where it operates on the underlying numeric (refer to the examples below).
```q
q)abs -1.0
1f
q)abs 10 -43 0N
10 43 0N
q)abs 1999.01.01
2000.12.31

q)/ If we convert these to longs, we can observe they're opposite
q)"j"$1999.01.01 2000.12.31 
-365 365
```

`abs` is a [multithreaded primitive](../kb/mt-primitives.md).

## Implicit iteration

`abs` is an [atomic function](../basics/atomic.md).
```q
q)abs(10;20 -30)
10
20 30
```

It applies to [dictionaries and tables](../basics/math.md#dictionaries-and-tables).

## Domain and range
```txt
domain b g x h i j e f c s p m d z n u v t
range  i . i h i j e f i . p m d z n u v t
```

Range: `ihjefpmdznuvt`

----

[`signum`](signum.md)


[Mathematics](../basics/math.md)