ABS Excel Function - Formula, Examples, Calculate Absolute Value

What Is ABS Function In Excel?

The ABS function in Excel extracts the numeric value of a selected cell or a cell range and returns the absolute number without the arithmetic sign. If the numeric value is positive, the number itself is returned, and if it is negative, only the number is returned without the minus (-) sign. The ABS Excel function is an inbuilt “Math & Trig” function, so we can insert the formula from the “Function Library” or enter it directly in the worksheet.

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For example, we will apply the ABS function to find the absolute values for the data in column A.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What does the ABS Excel function mean?

The ABS function helps users extract only the numeric part of a negative cell value and not its sign.

For example, we will calculate the average of the given values and then find the absolute value of the average result using the function.

In the table, the data is,
• Column A contains the Value.
• Here, column B contains the Actual Result.
• Column C contains the ABS Result.

The steps to find the value using the ABS formula are,

• Step 1: Select cell B2, enter the formula =AVERAGE(A2:A6), and press the “Enter” key. The result is ‘-20.2’, as shown below.

• Step 2: Next, select cell C2, enter the direct formula =ABS(AVERAGE(A2:A6)) or =ABS(B2), and press the “Enter” key.

The result is “20.2”, as shown above. Cells B3 and C3 are for our reference.

2. How to insert the ABS Excel function?

We can insert the ABS function as follows:
1) Select an empty cell for the output.
2) Type =ABS( in the selected cell. [Alternatively, type =A and double-click the ABS function from the list of suggestions shown by Excel.]
3) Enter the arguments as cell values or cell references and close the brackets.
4) Press the “Enter” key.

For example, we will calculate the sum-product of the given values and then the absolute value of the sum-product result using the ABS function.

In the table, the data is,
• Column A contains the Value.
• Here, column B contains the Actual Result.
• Column C contains the ABS Result.

The steps to find the value using the ABS formula are,

• Step 1: Select cell B2, enter the formula SUMPRODUCT(A2:A6), and press the “Enter” key. The result is ‘-927’, as shown below.

• Step 2: Next, select cell C2, enter the direct formula =ABS(SUMPRODUCT(A2:A6)) or =ABS(B2), and press the “Enter” key.

The result is “927”, as shown above. Cells B3 and C3 are for our reference.

3. Where is the ABS Excel function?

The ABS function is in the “Formulas” tab, as shown below.

Choose an empty cell for the output → select the “Formulas” tab → go to the “Function Library” group → click the “Math & Trig” drop-down à→ select the “ABS” function, as shown below.

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