---
page_title: abs function reference
description: The `abs` function returns the absolute value of the given number. 
---

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> [!IMPORTANT]  
> **Documentation Update:** Product documentation previously located in `/website` has moved to the [`hashicorp/web-unified-docs`](https://github.com/hashicorp/web-unified-docs) repository, where all product documentation is now centralized. Please make contributions directly to `web-unified-docs`, since changes to `/website` in this repository will not appear on developer.hashicorp.com.
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# `abs` Function

`abs` returns the absolute value of the given number. In other words, if the
number is zero or positive then it is returned as-is, but if it is negative
then it is multiplied by -1 to make it positive before returning it.

## Examples

```shell-session
> abs(23)
23
> abs(0)
0
> abs(-12.4)
12.4
```
