The times sign and where it comes from
The multiplication sign × is also called the times sign. The English mathematician William Oughtred is credited with introducing it in 1631. Gottfried Leibniz disliked it because it is easy to confuse with the letter x, and he preferred a raised dot, which is why algebra books often write a ⋅ b or simply ab.
Today × is the standard sign in arithmetic and school math. It also shows dimensions (20 × 30 cm), screen resolutions (1920 × 1080), zoom levels (2×) and, in botany, hybrid plants.
× vs x vs * vs ⋅
The letter x is a look-alike, not a math sign. It sits lower, is narrower in many fonts, and screen readers read it as "ex". Use × when you can, especially in printed tables and product sizes.
The asterisk * is what computers use: Excel, Google Sheets and nearly every programming language write =A1*B1 or 3 * 4, because × was never part of the ASCII character set. The dot operator ⋅ is common in algebra and physics; it is a different character from the middle dot · used in text. In vector math, a ⋅ b is the dot product and a × b (or ⨯) is the cross product.
Looking for a decorative X for checklists or close buttons? Those live on the X symbols page.
How to type the multiplication sign
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0215 on the number pad. The US Mac keyboard has no Option shortcut for ×, so open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for "multiplication". In Microsoft Word, type 00D7 and press Alt + X.
On Android with Gboard, × is on the second symbols page (?123, then =\<). In LaTeX, use \times for × and \cdot for ⋅. In HTML, write ×. For the opposite operation, see the division symbol ÷, and for powers like 3², the squared symbol page.