What does precision mean in maths terms?

Answer 1

In mathematics, the word precision is used to describe the total number of digits (the number of significant figures) used in a number to approximate another number.

For example, given a number 145.37823 the number 145 approximates the previous number with a precision of 3, and 145.3782 approximates it with a precision of 7.

In other words, in maths, at least arithmetically speaking, precision is just another word for significant figures.

In statistics, precision is usually a measurement of how well a measurement system gives consistent results, and is the reciprocal of variance.