What is the difference between a terminating and a repeating decimal?

Answer 1

A terminating decimal reaches an end after a finite number of digits whereas a repeating decimal, after a finite number of digits, has a string of decimals (also of finite length) that repeats forever.

Thus 1.2356 is a terminating decimal.

1.456333... is a repeating decimal with the digit 3 repeating an infinite number of times.

So also is 23.56142857142857...... where the string 142857 repeats to infinity.

In fact, terminating decimals may be viewed as repeating decimals with zero repeating infinitely.